


Incorporeal Wedding Bells

by TaraHarkon, Waywardwitchcat



Series: Incorporeal [8]
Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Anal Fingering, Anal Sex, Consensual Possession, Cults, Dom/sub, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Family, Family Feels, Family Vacation, Ghosts, Hand Jobs, M/M, Mind Control, Oral Sex, Possession, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Sex, Sexual Coercion, Vacation, Washington D.C., family growing pains
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-21
Updated: 2019-10-29
Packaged: 2019-11-01 21:39:00
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 20
Words: 81,705
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17875337
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TaraHarkon/pseuds/TaraHarkon, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Waywardwitchcat/pseuds/Waywardwitchcat
Summary: Time passed as it always did, with Barry and Lup going to work and the boys going to school. But April school vacation was coming up and it had, by some miracle, aligned with Keats' spring break at the community college. After some deliberation, they'd decided to take another swing at taking a vacation.





	1. Chapter 1

Time passed as it always did, with Barry and Lup going to work and the boys going to school. But April school vacation was coming up and it had, by some miracle, aligned with Keats' spring break at the community college. After some deliberation, they'd decided to take another swing at taking a vacation. ("Preferably with uh... with no one getting kidnapped or almost murdered or  _ actually _ murdered this time, okay?") Taako had managed to cajole Kravitz into agreeing to go along and Barry had found a train that seemed alright. They would eat a meal on board and arrive at their destination in time to check in and settle in for bed. But this way, they could avoid airports and everything associated with them.   
  
A few days before the trip, Tess was curled up on a pair of Barry's jeans that he'd thrown on the bed before going to get in the shower. They were one of his favorite pairs, well worn in, and Tess seemed to be agreeing in that moment. Barry was in the shower, working on scrubbing off a layer of dirt from spending the morning in the garden. Their new seedlings were in and the perennials were doing well. They were probably even going to have an early harvest on the snap peas, which he was particularly excited about. But all of that was going to just have to wait until they got back.

Lup had been spending a frustrating morning trying to get a head start on their laundry and packing. It seemed like every time she turned around, a thing she needed and had just set down vanished and she had to spend ten minutes looking for it before it showed up a few inches from where she put it, or something outside would distract her and she’d come back and have to get back into the groove of things again.   
  
They’d spent the rest of the winter doing ancestry searches on Barry and consulting with the local Lodge to see what was required to keep their land healthy and happy.   
  
So far they apparently had been doing what they were supposed to, but they’d been warned that with two to three magic users, things might get, well, _odd._   
  
And since the Spring Equinox, Lup had _definitely_ noticed an uptick in........ anthropomorphization.   
  
“Now _look_ -“ she brandished a pair of Barry’s socks at the air. “We _are_ leaving and it’s JUST a week and you’re going to have to get USED to it! We can’t be stuck here all the time, we’d go nuts!”   
  
There was a general sensation of grumbling from the specific wards around the house, though the property ones seemed satisfied.   
  
“You’re just going to have to trust we come back, that’s how this works,” she tilted her head and tried to push down the feeling of being silly and talking to the air. “.... and I’ll- I’ll...I’ll bring you back.... back dirt from DC and spread it on the front lawn as a present, how’s that?”  
  
There was general agreement that this would be acceptable.   
“Good. Can I PLEASE finish laundry- oh. There those are, move it, Miss Thing.”   
  
She yanked Barry’s pants off the floor, and as she did a small wooden box fell out and hit the floor with a quiet thump. Tess protested both her bed before moved and the sudden appearance of the little box, batting at it with a paw until it popped open.

Lup blinked at the box before scooping Tess up and evicting her from the room.   
  
“Nope! Banished until you can be HELPFUL!”    
  
Shutting the door firmly behind the cat, she turned and picked up the box.    
  
It was a gorgeously delicate thing, made of a beautifully grained dark wood with a hand carved design of entwined hearts on the lid in a lighter wood.    
  
Lup ran her fingers over it, feeling the pleasant soft hum that she’d come to recognize as Gregor’s magic. Angus still kept Barry’s old wooden toys in his room at the window sills as guardians.    
  
The rings inside were simple gold bands and she could feel the fizz of Barry’s magic on them; more than they would get from him just touching them for sure.    
  
Suddenly, Lup knew she  _ absolutely _ should not know these existed. How the FUCK could she pretend otherwise?    
Looking around frantically, she saw another pair of Barry’s jeans hung over the clothes chair, waiting to be packed and stuck the box in a pocket before gathering up the laundry and hurrying downstairs.    
  
Opening the basement door she took a breath and arranged her face out of the emotional torrent running through her and put on a shit- eating grin,    
  
“You’d better have all your clothes on, I’m coming down!”

"If Keats didn't have his pants on, Ma'am, Valin'd have them." Savannah was giggling, watching Keats trying to get a pair of his boxers back from Valin who had managed to tuck himself completely under the workbench in a way Keats couldn't get to him. The pup had decided that his new game was grabbing clothes Keats had packed and running off with them to hide under the stairs or behind things or under the bed.   


Savannah had been there since the day before and they were both excited to get to go on this trip together. She was laughing, tail flicking back and forth, as she watched Valin try to 'help' Keats with his packing.   
  
"I  _ will _ come in there after you. Don't think I won't. I might get stuck, but so help me, I  _ will _ do it." Valin barked and then shook the boxers a little, clearly enjoying himself.

Lup grinned for real as she walked to the washer and started loading it,    
  
“Michen, have you considered obedience lessons? He’s clearly not got you trained well ENOUGH yet ~”

"I'm considering it... When we get back, I'll see if Magnus can help."   
  
Savannah got up, taking this opportunity to shove the rest of Keats' clothes into his duffel bag and moved it up onto the bed where hopefully Valin wouldn't be able to reach them.   
  
"You might as well just grab another pair at this point, sweetheart. Because he's winning this fight."   
  
"It's about the principle of the thing now!" Keats was on his stomach, trying to crawl under the workbench. "Give.  _ Give, _ Valin."

Lup chuckled as she turned to start the water running. There was a clatter of feet at the top of the stairs and Angus’s voice;   
  
“Mom? Is the washer all full?” More clattering feet as he came hurrying downstairs with his dirty clothes bag. Lup eyed his ankles as he turned the corner at the bottom of the stair, noticing quite a lot of room between them and his pant leg. There was probably a reason he was sleeping so much…  
  
“Yeah for sure, toss ‘em in.”    
  
As Angus opened his bag over the washer, he looked over his shoulder at Keats,    
“You gotta teach him commands in another language so he’s not always hearing the words when they don’t apply to him. I just read that one.”

“I could try that... can’t be Elvish though, he hears that all the time.”   
  
Savannah zipped Keats’ bag up and tossed it with hers, a grin on her face, “Betcha we could train him in Infernal.”

Lup laughed and shut the washer as it started to hum the start of its cycle, “Yeah,  _ that _ might get some new expressions out of Kravitz, deffo for SURE.”    
  
Angus reached down to snap his fingers for Valin’s attention and whistled, “What about French? Or....” he glanced at Lup, “Dad could give you German words.”

Valin shot out from under the workbench and Keats sat up fast, whacking his head on the solid wood.   
“[For fucks sake, Valin!]”   
  
Savannah laughed as the dog danced circles around Angus and then dropped the boxers at his feet. They had a hole in them now.   
  
Upstairs, Barry had finished his shower and went to go get dressed. He frowned slightly when he realized the jeans he’d left out were gone and went to grab another pair. They had a bit more weight than he expected and he checked the pockets. He found the carved wood box tucked into a pocket and his confusion grew.   
  
“Must’ve just mixed up which pants...?” He muttered to himself, and then pulled them on. Tess miaowed and put her paws up on his thigh. He smiled and reached down to give her a scratch behind the ear while she chattered away at him.   
  
“You’re a noisy little pippin today, aren’t you, Tess?”

Tess tried to hook her claws in the pocket with the ring box and miaowed louder before skittering out of the room. Barry shrugged and followed her downstairs, chuckling when he saw her screech to a stop outside the basement door with the sound of puppy barks from below.  
  
Walking down the staircase, he looked over the scene, “I’m gonna order from that uh... that Thai place. That sound good to everybody?”

“I want duck please!” Angus picked up the boxers and frowned, tracing a spell circle above them with his finger. When he handed them back to Keats, the hole was gone, though they were still damp. “Dad, can you teach Valin German?”

“You uh... you want me to teach the dog to speak German?” Barry looked a little confused. Then he looked over at Keats and Savannah.   
  
“I’d like pad thai if that’s okay, Mr. Bluejeans.” Savannah gave him a big smile. “And if you don’t teach him, or well,  _ Keats _ German, then I could always teach them both Infernal, Sir.”   
  
Keats shoved the boxers into his bag. “Can I get crazy noodles and dumplings? And spring rolls and-“   
  
“I’ll get you a combo, bud.”

Lup rolled her eyes as she headed up the stairs, “Y’all are  _ terrible _ at context. It’s for obedience training, babe. I’ll have the brown curry, and I’m gonna go call Taako and let him complain about packing.”    


"Or I'm fucking with the kids, babe! You never know!" Barry called back, a laugh in his voice.

Kissing his cheek as she passed him, Lup stepped into her outside boots and headed into the yard. Slipping automatically into the ‘walking the boundaries’ pace she and Barry had been using more and more, she pulled her phone out.    
**Evil Twin**   
\-  __ twin sos please respond buttmunch  
  
Taako was working on trying to cram at least three weeks worth of clothes into his luggage while Kravitz and the assembled cats looked on skeptically.   
  
"You do remember we're only going for a week, right, dearest?"   
  
"Of course, Bones, but like-" He was interrupted by the cheerful dinging of his phone and he pulled it out, looking at the screen for a moment before waving it in Kravitz's direction. "Twin emergency, babe. B-R-B."   
  
He slipped into the kitchen and slid down to sit on the floor against the cabinets.    
**Buttmunch**   
__ \- sup?

Lup took a breath and released it, pulling herself in until she could feel Barry’s direction but not much else. That was fine and normal and WHEN had that become her normal and everything suddenly felt too fast and it had almost been two years which was really?? Nothing.    
  
She was nearly to the edge of the trees and found a not very damp stump to sit on while she texted.    
  


**Evil Twin**   
- _ found 2 wedding rings in a box in Barry’s pocket while doing laundry. Looks like they’re his parents rings??? Sentimental fuckin dork I love him but also _ fuck.  _ do I say I found em or what??? _

Taako's ears flicked straight up and he reached blindly above him for the glass of wine he'd left there. Pulling it down, he took a sip and grinned.   
  


**Buttmunch**   
_ \- Okay, one, breathe. Two, I can't believe you found someone who's as big a sap as you. _   
  
He considered for a long moment, staring into the glass as he swirled it before typing more.   


**Buttmunch**   
_ -Obviously, the nerd's got a plan or he would've already said something. And we know he's got a flair for the dramatic that almost rivals yours. Almost. So I'd go with no, don't say anything. Let him do what he's doing. _   
  
_ \- Oh, and congrats  _

**Evil Twin**

- _ okay great BUT ALSO FUCK???? _   
  
She couldn’t sit anymore and jumped off her log to start along the deer track they’d been slowly ramping down over the winter. Here were leftover paw prints from Valin, there a collection of hoof marks from the goats. The deer were slowly making other arrangements.    
  
They were making  _ long term changes _ to this place.    
  
- _ i don’t know how to be fuckin married, the only time THAT ever happened was Ullúme which wasn’t the greatest _

**Buttmunch**

_ \- I thought we said we were never talking about that place ever again? _   
  
Taako's ears had flicked straight back, quivering with how tightly they were pressed against the side of his head. He took a few breaths and chugged the rest of his wine, pushing those memories away.   
  


**Evil Twin**

- _ yeah well therapy brings up all the repressed shit _

  
**Buttmunch**

_\- Look at your man, Lulu, and tell me you're not already basically living that married life? You've got fucking kids! And goats! And a puppy, for crying out loud. And you know he's not gonna be like that._   
  
Lup took a breath and stared down the hill through the trees at the house.   
  
Their. House.   
  
They’d painted it a cheerful yellow with blue trim and it stood out starkly against the mud and new green of springtime. There were discussions of chickens if Keats could get Valin to behave.   
  
The garden was a riot of new growth, and she was putting in new herbs in the window boxes when they got back.   
  
She leaned against a tree while she texted.   
  


**Evil Twin**

- _yeah no I do I’ve never been more sure of anything than I am of THAT_   
- _but like. If I wanted to I could walk away if we’re married I can’t and I don’t know how that changes it but it does_

**Buttmunch**

_ \- Okay, so why were you thinking about that shit hole? You're not like, thinking of the nerd that way, right? Because I think we both know he's about as manipulative as a a sponge. He's like the opposite of manipulative. _   
  
Taako made a face, pulling himself to his feet to grab the bottle of wine. Time for a refill if this convo was going to keep going. Then he stared at the wine and sighed, filling his glass with water and transmuting it to vodka instead. This was absolutely a vodka conversation.

Lup stared at the cheerful house again, thinking of making deals with land spirits so it wouldn’t be sad and how the thump of the land’s heartbeat was sounding under her feet as she walked the boundary trail.    
  
It was in every way completely different from the long ago compound up in the Owyhee desert. And yet....   
  
**Buttmunch**

- _ i don’t want to feel trapped I don’t like how I got back when I did _

**Buttmunch**

_ \- I can't believe I'm the one advocating this but have you considered talking to the nerd? _   
  
Taako took a long sip of his vodka, his mind drifted back to the rolling hills and the barbed wire fences.    
  
_ \- You know he loves you, right? Like real actual love? Not that fake shit? _

**Evil Twin**

- _yeah but if I talk to him he’ll know I saw the thing AND ILL RUIN IT ANYWAY_   
  
Lup briefly considered heading back the way she had come but... no, no she had to make a proper loop around the boundaries. You couldn’t _not_ unless something happened, it was just....it was bad manners.   
  
- _i know that, how have YOU figured that out?_

**Buttmunch**

_ \- Because I know you, dingus _   
  
Taako grinned, even though they were texting and she couldn't see him.    
  
_ \- Because I've seen the way you look at each other. Turns out, even I can't goof up what that is _

**Evil Twin**

- _im going to read these receipts to your fan base LOCAL ASSHOLE KNOWS WHAT LOVE IS_  
  
- _thanks brobro_   
  
Letting out a whoosh of air, Lup turned the corner back up the driveway to the house. Dinner should be delivered soon and she was hungry.

**Buttmunch**

_ \- Don't you fucking dare or I will put you on blast _   
  
_ \- I know the things you haven't told the nerd, Lulu! Do you remember Vegas? Because I remember Vegas! _   
  


 


	2. Sobbing About Our Traumas on the Floor (ends hornily)

Lup had been carefully relaxed all through dinner, and it was surprisingly easy to do. Savannah added a new element of chatter to their family dynamic and it was fun to watch Keats go flushed from teasing that WASN’T hers. But by the time she was going through the bed routine, anxious energy was rolling along her arms and legs, wanting to be used against whatever threat she was sensing.   
  
Anxiety was so fucking stupid sometimes.   
  
She managed to pull her pajamas on casually (thick flannel pants and an old long sleeved shirt of Barry’s that she’d pilfered from the attic) when Barry walked in, hands wet from the bathroom and shut the door. She took a breath and just _went_ for it; “So.... full disclosure...... I found your, uh, your ring box, babe....”

 

Barry froze just, breathing stopping entirely. He stared at her, eyes wide. Then he took a shaky breath and rubbed at the back of his neck, trying to scramble for his words.  "I mean... um... you... you did? It uh... it's um... I found it in the uh... in the attic. Like..." He tried to remember the last time he'd been up there and winced. "Around um... Candlenights? And uh... it belongs... belonged to uh... to my folks and uh..."  He trailed off then, completely not sure what to do and bright red.

 

“Yeah no, I figured, feels like your dad’s and I- it’s gorgeous, babe, and I’m kinda glad Tess knocked it out of your jeans, might not have survived, uh, survived a trip through the washer-“   Lup scrubbed her face against the age softened flannel of her sleeve and flicked a brief flame from her other hand in a nervous gesture.  “No it uh....just brought up a lot of- I probably should have told you this a while ago, I just hate thinking about it- ....fuck, I’m fucking this up-“  She took a long breath and held out her hands, palms up, “Not a ‘break up’ talk, not a ‘I’m mad at you’ talk. Just- just ran into a trigger, that’s all.”

 

If possible, Barry looked even more startled now. He came over to sit on the edge of the bed. He had briefly been grabbed by a fight or flight level of adrenaline, but he was taking slow breaths, calming himself back down. Lup wasn't going anywhere. She wasn't mad. Everything was fine, and they could talk like adults. That was definitely something they were capable of doing.  "What uh... what did I do wrong?"  And he had slipped right back into the old patterns from before. He looked down, silently cursing in every language he could, "I mean... that's not... Dammit."

Lup grimaced, hands flexing, “Yeah, no, yeah I get it, shit- OKAY.” She dropped into a tailor’s seat in front of him, not caring that it put her at his knee level right now. She couldn’t stand the thought of sitting on the bed with the way her fingers ached with unused fire. “Right, right, Okay. So like... back in the seventies, shit was  _ weird _ , right? Me ‘n ‘Ko were living in Toronto and like... half our friends hadn’t come back from Vietnam, and we were kinda at loose ends and working odds and ends jobs and just getting on.”  She took a breath and let it out, twisting her fingers together, “.....and Taako meets this dude named Cúa- actually, he probably introduced himself as something else, but fuck if I remember, he started using the new one real soon- he had a meditation center and sold weed, that was the important thing. And Taako fell for him super hard.”

 

"I mean... I know jack and also shit about the seventies beyond there being a lot of drugs and uh... some pretty bad politics? But... Yeah, that sounds like Taako." He reached out his hand almost hesitantly, not sure if she would reject the touch or not,  "What happened?"

 

Lup reached out to lace their fingers together and squeezed, letting out a strangled laugh, “Hey, you know what else there were a lot of in the seventies? Fuckin’ cults. Don’t look up Jonestown unless you’re ready for a real bad night.”  She leaned her forehead against Barry’s knee, still clinging to his hand, “So I go along with Taako to these meditation seminar things and smoke dope in the back with his buddies after and it’s.... it’s just  _ nice _ having people around again, you know? And it’s mostly queer folk, and Cúa always was giving long talks about living together in harmony and loving each other equally and it was pretty, uh, pretty standard stuff, except he had  _ charisma _ and me and Taako just.... just kept hanging around and hanging around until suddenly we’re IN the in group, right?”    
Lup took a breath, and swallowed, “....then, uh.... then there were a fuck ton of raids on gay bars in Montreal to clean up for the Olympics and- and Cúa said ‘hey fuck this, guess what, mime nosse? Land is cheap in Idaho, so let’s go there where no one will bother us’....”

 

Barry squeezed her hand. He could see the appeal, dammit he’d been there hadn’t he? Not quite the same, but he certainly had a colorful history if you could get your hands on the real thing. Not that he’d ever been arrested. No one in this town would arrest Marlena’s boy no matter where they found him and what they found him doing.   
But at the same time, he could hear the undertone, could see the same lines of story that wove together when he talked about the beginning of things with Edward.   
“Did uh... I mean...” he exhaled slowly, trying to word things right. “What happened?”

 

“Nothin’ real colorful for- for a little while” Lup moved so she could lean against his thigh, instead of his knee, eyes staring blankly across decades.   
“Was kinda cool, actually. Got a huge garden set up, kinda dorm room thing going on. It was on the edge of the Owyhee canyon country, s’fuckin’  _ gorgeous _ out there,” she grimaced, “No towns for miles. Had to, uh, to make trips like every two weeks to supply stuff.....Called it Ullúme because you gotta have a dramatic name…That’s ‘forever’, in case you didn’t see the red flag...” she sighed, “Couple people had their kids...yeah. It was okay for a year, not quite two. While we were all busy. Then we were settled and Cúa didn’t have enough to do organizing us into his grand idea of paradise, I guess.... and, uh, so-"  She flicked a glance up at him, “- so winters got boring and hey, we were all about free- free love and what have you, sooooo- ...so he started having, um. Orgies, sex parties. With himself at the center.” She grimaced, “and at first they were just- just whoever wanted to come. And  _ listen _ , me ‘n Taako? Avoid intertwining our sex lives at all costs.”    
  
She swallowed, “.... and I’d met Mica already.”

 

Barry shifted a little and then mumbled something like a quiet apology before sliding down to the floor to sit next to her properly. He put an arm around her and rested his head against hers. He was trying not to think ahead, trying not to let his mind wander to chase this story to its logical conclusion. But it was hard to rein his mind in at the best of times, and the best of times was not when he was listening to her finally explaining all the little things. He'd known there was something in her past, something she had kept hinting at that was one of the core reasons she'd decided she needed a therapist too after he started seeing one. And he kept thinking to the box tucked away safely and wondering what on earth these things could have to do with each other. He could see a lot of possible options and didn't particularly like any of them.

 

Lup curled against him, sorrow drifting across their bond, old and creased, something put away and only brought out to look at on special occasions.    
“Mica was- was a dwarf. And ze was.... gods. Ze was so much fun...had a way of telling a joke that would leave the whole room silent before everyone cracked up for like ten minutes. We- we had a running gag that we were just a gender swapped Legolas and Gimli, just needed a boat at this point...” She let out a breath, “so. So we decided, fuck it, there’s no one around to stop us, we’ll get married. Not officially, couldn’t even THINK of getting a license in the nearest town, but... one of the old hand-fasting rituals in front of everyone, and  _ we’d _ know. And we asked Cúa to lead it for us.”   


Lup pressed closer to Barry as she shivered, “....he agreed. And said we should make a day of it and like... hey, if anyone else was thinking of the same thing, absolutely! Make more food! A festival!”   
Her ears were now fully pinned back, mouth tightening, “Day comes. S’us and a few other couples. One triple who hadn’t been able to add their third in until now. And... and he changes it up. Like a LOT. And basically marries himself to all of us instead. And he added in magic so we could- could  _ feel _ it taking-“

 

Barry’s eyes widened as he realized. So many things fell right into place in that moment and he hated every single thing about it. He ran his hand over her hair and leaned in to kiss her forehead.   
“After something like that I... I’m amazed you trusted anyone ever again.” His voice was quiet, thoughtful. He almost wanted to make a joke there, just something to bring the atmosphere back out of the chill it had fallen into. Instead, he let his magic skip up across the wards, just slightly assuring himself that everything else was as it should be.

 

Lup laughed hoarsely, “have you  _ met _ Taako? He gets, like, one trust token a YEAR and HORDES them...” Shaking her head she squeezed his hand, “things escalated quickly after that, and it... like, we were STUCK. There was one road out and two cars and THOSE were watched by Cúa’s trusted cronies. And Taako wasn’t one of those after he threw a fit about the marriage ceremony. Cúa told him jealousy had no place in Ullúme, and ignored him for a week. Mica and I were split up, put on different chore rotations, it was... well. Bad. So Taako steals us food and knives out of the kitchen, I grab a couple blankets and a compass, pass a message to Mica and we… met up at the edge of the compound and ze- ze never showed… Cúa and couple of his bully boys did though. And man we- we just  _ booked _ it. Got lucky that we were among the few magic users and  _ better _ than Cúa.... but they had guns. We wandered for like a week before finding a parks service camp and getting back to civilization.”    
  
She went quiet for a few moments. “- so yeah, last time I got married didn’t go so well. I got the magic taken off by a cleric as soon as I could, cause it, uh, it was starting to make me sick bein’- being away from him. I know that’s not-“  She buried her face in Barry’s shoulder, “I  _ know _ that’s not you, I just-“

 

Barry wrapped his arms around her uncertainly. He was quiet for a long moment, just thinking while the silence stretched between them. Then he sighed and let the first words that managed to sort themselves out trip out of his mouth,  "I... I guess I'm glad I didn't surprise you like I was uh... like I was planning on. That probably would've been the uh... the worst thing I could've done, huh?"

 

Lup scoffed a laugh and pushed her face into his chest, “Yeah, having this conversation  _ after _ I flipped out on you, that woulda been fun....” She was quiet for a while, just letting the feeling of him, of the quiet house ambiance, the solidity of their wards around them, wash the old memories back down to where they were stored.    
  
It was  _ long _ ago, and she was feeling vaguely annoyed at still being under that asshole’s power. Sighing, she nuzzled against Barry’s chest,  “.....woulda said yes though. Still would.”

 

Surprise shot through him. He absolutely not been expecting that. He'd been expecting to have to shove his emotions, the very real fears that had been swirling inside him since they had moved in together, all of that back down. And fuck, he knew exactly why he had  _ that _ reaction. Merle had called him out on it during a session more than once. He exhaled slowly, resting his head against hers again.   
  
He had been doing a lot of reading in the two years since Lup and Taako and all of their friends had brought him out into the modern world and there had been a theme to some of it. A lot of things had changed in 50 years, and just as many things hadn't. But one thing had really stuck out to him in all his reading, back when Lup had told him to read up on the AIDs crisis if he wanted to understand some of the things she insisted on. He had read up on that and followed the lines forward, followed it into the fight for marriage equality, and saw the reasons why. Somewhere between  _ that _ and the faint dreams of a teenage boy in the 1940s who thought about a white picket fence and a house and happiness and kids and a dog, that was where his hopes and his fears lived.  He didn't want to ever be in a position where something had happened and... and well, he was already dead. It wasn't like he would ever be the one in the hospital. All he had to do was get home and take his harness off and he would reset. But if something happened to Lup or the boys and he couldn't get to them, if someone tried to stop him. He didn't want to  _ ever _ be in that position.  A smile crossed his face as her words sunk in. "...Really?"

 

Three different flippant responses jumped into Lup’s mouth, and she ignored them. This was  _ real _ and too important to even act like it was casual. She reached out and cupped Barry’s cheek, pulling him into a long soft kiss, sending her love and trust and affection pulsing along their bond in a steady tide,  “Yeah. Yeah, for real.”

 

Barry returned that kiss, unable to stop smiling. Relief flooded his veins and was quickly followed by elation and awe. Then he pulled back and kissed her nose lightly,  “Can I still do something big and romantic for you? Or is that too much?”

 

Lup giggled, light headed with relief, and kissed the side of his mouth in retaliation, “What, sitting on the floor sobbing about our traumas isn’t on brand enough for you?” 

"Oh, it's on brand, that's for sure. But uh... when Taako asks what happened, is this the story you wanna tell him?" He teased just lightly, arms tightening around her.

Nosing along his jaw, she grinned, “big and romantic sounds like fun. Besides. Those rings ARE gorgeous.”    
  
He laughed and turned to kiss her again. "But if I uh... if I do  _ one _ big romantic thing, then you know when it's coming, right? So,  _ obviously _ I need to come up with like... like a whole  _ week _ of stuff. Keep you on your toes."

 

Lup pulled back and gave him a narrow eyed look, “So.... a week of teasing me and watching me squirm? This couldn’t  _ possibly _ line up with the vacation we’re going on, could it?”

"Convenient, that." He gave her his best shit-eating faux-innocent grin. "Normally, you like it when I tease you, babe," he teased. "Especially when I'm watching you squirm. In fact, I've been uh... I've been under the impression it was one of your favorite things."

“A  _ week _ is a new record for you, babe,” Lup stretched her legs out, wincing as feeling crackled through them again after sitting on the floor for so long. “Were any of these pre-planned or you flying by the seat of your pants?”

 

"I mean... I had  _ a _ plan. Gonna have to improvise a little now I guess." He stretched out with a wince, his lower back popping. He normally avoided sitting on the floor because, as he kept having to remind himself, he wasn't exactly a spring chicken. "I don't mind though." He kissed her cheek. "Pack a nice dress or two though. You're gonna want them." Then he paused, cheeks going a very bright red. "Or a suit, if uh... if you want. Shit, you'd look good in a suit. Have I mentioned I'm weak for suits just like... as a concept?"

Lup grinned toothily as she pulled him onto the bed with her, “you have  _ not _ . Oh, I can have FUN with that....” She kissed the palm of his hand as she sat up against the headboard, “.....love you.”

 

He leaned against her, a smile on his face. “Love you too, Lup. So much," h e looked away then, “It’s funny because... you know, I’m glad now that I waited but uh... but I only did because I guess... I guess I was scared? And now that feels really... silly.”

Lup shrugged, wrapping around him and nuzzling against his shoulder, “makes about as much sense as my freak out. It’s not, like,  _ logical _ , just... just makes emotional sense.”  She closed her eyes and felt for the background pulse of their bond, a constant sense of  _ where _ he was.

 

“Well, if there’s one thing I’m real good at, it’s definitely uh... definitely absolutely real good at making really illogical emotional decisions. Great at that.”  He chuckled quietly at himself and shifted to guide her into his lap, holding her there against him. “And now I know, and it... it helps. Explains stuff too. And I’m gonna make sure you get the best damn week, even if I’ve got you squirming the entire time. Maybe  _ especially _ because of it.” His voice went low then and he kissed the spot right below her ear. “After all, I  _ always _ make sure the build up is worth it, right?”

She shuddered, ear flicking as his breath hit it, “Have- haven’t had any complaints about your follow through, babe....”  It was easier now to let her memories drift back into the past.  _ Now _ was much more important and  _ here _ and now included Barry’s hands tracing circles under her shirt…“A-any chance you’ll let me in on some of those plans ahead of time?”

 

"Well, for one, did you know that uh... that our trip lines up with the cherry blossom festival? I mean, with the end of it at least. Real cherry trees, from Tokyo even." He kissed her neck again. "I also found a couple really, really nice restaurants and I uh... I was having trouble picking between them. So I guess we'll just have to do both."  Barry stopped then, one hand on the bare skin of her stomach. "Is this okay? I mean... we can  _ not _ tonight if uh..."

Lup plucked one of his hands up and placed it on the front of her pants which were starting to tent, “So, cherry blossoms. That’s  _ awesome _ because apparently bringing souvenirs for the house is a thing we do now.

"I'm sorry, did you just say that the  _ house _ wants souvenirs?" Barry chuckled quietly, his mouth close to her skin. He ran his hand over her, cupping her through her pants. "We can definitely get some uh... some blossoms if you think the house is into that,"  He slid his other hand up, under her shirt and ghosted his fingers over her breasts. "Do you like French food? I've never had it but uh... this place I found is supposed to be as good as going to Paris."

 

Lup leaned back, closing her eyes and shivering at the touches across her chest, “Mmm... mhm, was the only- only way I got it to leave me alone to pack was promising-“ she inhaled a quavering breath, hips pressing up against his hand. “- tokens. Where we’d been.”  She was trying to keep her ears still as puffs of lukewarm air ghosted over her skin. She was going to hit Barry in the eye or something if they didn’t stay up and quivering with tension.

 

"You didn't answer the question about the uh... the French food. Like the real shit." He slid her pajama pants down a bit but now quite all the way just yet. "Do you like that? Or should I find somewhere else."  He nipped at her ear and then kissed the same spot. Teasing her nipple between finger and thumb, he laughed a little and moved so he wouldn't get hit. "You'd be amazed how many uh... how many fancy restaurants they keep in DC. I had no idea."

 

“ _ Please _ don’t find somewhere el-“ her hands dropped to his legs on either side of her, fingers sliding along his pants until they found the backs of his knees and she pressed her nails there slightly, “-oh the- ....yeah. Yeah, that’s good. S’gotta have, have plenty of places for fuckin’.... politicians to-“ her ears dropped low, hitting his shoulder as she whines and arched her chest against his hand.

 

“You know, I’m still not sure I’ve actually gotten an... an answer about the uh... the French place.” He whimpered a little, closing his eyes as he tried to bring himself back under control. Couldn’t well take her apart like he wanted if he was falling apart too. He pulled her shirt off then, tossing it across the room,  “Unless that was what the yeah was for?”

“Mhm, yeah sounds great, babe,” she’d had to lift her hands off his legs and lean forward for Barry to pull her shirt off, and Lup used the position change to slowly grind back against him as she settled in his lap again, “We can play ‘foreign spy or not’ and pre- pretend to know about wines, it’ll be baller.”

Barry rocked his hips forward slowly, grinding against her just enough to let her know how hard he was, “There’s also the museum which-mmmm, okay, not exactly romantic, but hear me out on this one.  _ Rockets.”  _ He slid his hand down, running his fingers over her clit. He pressed his lips against the back of her neck and then rested his head against hers.

 

Lup let out a sigh that did not tremble by sheer force of will and ran her fingernails behind Barry’s knees again, “The romance part comes in when you can tear,  _ hah _ , tear your attention away  _ from _ the rockets onto me, babe.” She grinned, sliding her hands up his thighs, digging in her nails through his pants even harder.

“Height of romance, that.” He stroked her clit, her nails drawing a gasp and a whimper from his throat, “Fuck- I... Lup, I...” He tried to compose himself again, focusing on her words and not what she was doing to him. “And we can- we can do some tourist stuff with the kids too. Go see some... some h-history and shit.”

“Mmm? Deffo, for sure. Angus will go nuts over the Smithsonian.” Drawing her knees up, Lup slid her feet up to her shins under Barry’s calves for more contact. The fact that this tilted him back more as she ground against him was - _ naturally _ \- sheer coincidence,  “Sounds like a pretty packed trip, babe.”

"Plus the uh... the train ride." Barry gasped, rocking his hips against her. He wanted his jeans off and he wanted them off now, but he'd have to shift Lup off of him in order to do that and he wasn't entirely convinced it was worth it. "Never b-been on a tr-train before. You?"

Lup grinned, biting her lip at how  _ wrecked _ Barry sounded already. Gods, she loved him... and in a selfish way, loved how much he loved  _ her _ . She couldn’t recall any other lover who got so  _ very _ turned on as he did just from trying to get her off. “Not, hmm, not in a while... the modern, uh mm _ mm-! _ ” she pressed her heels into the mattress to buck up against Barry’s hand, trying to get her breathing under control again,  “-modern passengers trains are hardertojumponyes _ pleaseBearlikethat-! _ ”

"C-come for me, beautiful." His voice was just barely this side of a moan, his mouth close to her ear. "Gods, you're so good, Lup. So good for me."

Barry’s hand was pressing down on her hip hard enough to bruise every time Lup rutted up against his hand, breath coming in shrill gasps. She leaned back, cradled in his arms, legs tensing under his, head resting on his shoulder, magic twining at every contact point. Lup shuddered, breath keening in her throat, “Y-you.... you first, [beloved]-“ her nails clamped  _ hard _ into his thighs at the same time as she pushed heat along the veins of his power, shouting  _ lovedesireMINE _ down their bond.

 

Barry shivered and his head went back as he moaned her name, begging still. He wanted her to climax, he  _ needed _ her to. Even as he rode out his own orgasm, grinding against her, he  _ needed _ her to follow him down.

 

Lup keened as his pleasure rolled back at her, back arching hard and thrusting against Barry’s hand. Slowly, she came down, gasping a laugh as she relaxed against him again.

 

Barry rested his head against her shoulder and smiled. "Love you."  Then he shifted slightly and made a slightly frustrated sound as he realized he never had gotten his jeans off. "Dammit... Well, if there's anything  _ else _ that needs washing, I'll do a load in the morning. We'll have time, right?"

 

Lup turned to kiss his neck and made an equally disgusted sound when she realized he hadn’t pushed her pajama pants down  _ enough _ .   
“Found the ‘anything else’. Yeah, we should since  _ apparently _ I need to go over to Taako’s for emergency wardrobe additions.”

 

Barry chuckled and looked around for the wipes. They were perched on the edge of the nightstand from the other night and he grabbed the pack.    
"You could always just skip pajama pants. Then uh... then we wouldn't have this problem." He teased lightly before he kissed her cheek.

 

Lup blew a raspberry as she wiggled out of her pants and accepted a wipe,    
“When it’s warm enough that waking up next to you isn’t going to freeze my asscheeks together, SURE, babe.”

 

Barry started laughed as he wiggled out of his jeans and boxers, tossing both on the floor. "Only so much I can do about that, babe. We could try a heated blanket, but I don't think you're uh... you're supposed to like touch those directly? So until we solve that problem, you're just stuck with a really cuddly human popsicle."

 

“If you didn’t have a bombass dick, we might be exploring other options,” Lup padded across the floor to search through a drawer for a pair of tattered sweatpants. Crawling back into bed, she caught Barry’s face and kissed him thoroughly, “That was a fun position, but severe lack of kissing, eight out of ten.”

 

Barry laughed and returned the kiss. "Lemme go grab some pjs, babe. But... yeah, definitely agreeing on the rating. Also, are we rating positions now? Because that means we  _ really _ gotta get those notes going. Where'd the notebook go?"  He kissed her again as he moved to get up, heading towards his dresser to grab one of the older pairs of pajamas that wasn't already packed. All of his new, modern, warm pajamas were already packed for the trip so he was left with an older pair with stripes and a torn knee from long ago. They were soft and comfortable though.

 

“Nightstand, second drawer. Could you grab my shirt, babe? You, uuuh, kinda chucked it,” Lup sprawled out on her stomach to watch him, chin in her hands, ears flared at a happy angle. “Mmmm, parameters for ratings...stuff like ease of kissing, and amount of skin contact, and angle for fucking.... “

 

He scooped her shirt up off the floor, holding it in his hand as he crawled back into bed.   
"Listen to you with all this uh... good good science talk. You trying to get me all worked up again?"

 

“Is it working?~” Lup grinned as she pulled her (his) shirt over her head and wiggled under the covers next to him, “gimme ‘bout ten minutes you could probably have me begging for it....”

 

He wrapped an arm around her waist and cuddled close, wrapping himself around her,  "Maybe... maybe that's how I'll wake you up..." He murmured it quietly, eyes closed.


	3. Chapter 3

The next morning, Lup was up before dawn to shove the rest of her clean clothes in her bag before texting Taako as she headed to the car.    


**Evil Twin**   
- _ slightly less of an emergency but still red alert: I need access to ALL your fancy outfits, brother dearest whomst is the center of my heart _

The only reason that Taako was awake at this absolutely unholy hour was that Lup had a special ringtone on his phone, even for text messages, one that was guaranteed after years of experience to wake him out of a sound sleep or a flawless trance: the opening bars to One Girl Revolution. Still, he rolled over and stared at his phone for a long moment, trying to decipher the characters on the screen. His response came soon after.   
  
**Buttmunch**

_ \- Nerd taking you out on the town? Aren't you gonna need a denim dress to match his brand? _

**Evil Twin**

- _ so funny i forgot to laugh. im stopping by Paloma's for bribery breakfast, what scones you want? _   
  
Lup tossed her phone on the seat before pulling out of the driveway, tapping her fingers on the steering wheel as she ran her current dress up options through her head.   
Not fantastic. But she had several pairs of heels she could have Taako change the color on if needed. The idea of shopping in DC was mildly appealing and could be spun as 'twin time'.

**Buttmunch**

_ \- lemon rosemary, with the lemon glaze, you absolute heathen _   
  
Taako rolled out of bed, not in the slightest surprised that Kravitz was already up. In fact, he could hear him in the shower and smiled fondly. Kravitz had an absolutely wonderful habit of singing in the shower which Taako very much enjoyed, even if he didn't know what language it was in.   
  
_ \- What kind of fancy are we talking? Dresses? Suits? Something that screams 'celebrate my impending engagement' or more like 'my rich husband died under mysterious circumstances'? _

Lup grinned at her phone as she walked up to Paloma's bakery, a line already started for the fresh out of the oven batches.    
  
**Evil Twin**

- _ Dress AND a suit. The absolute madman decided if he can't surprise me once, he's just going to plan outings all week and make me guess which one he's proposing on _   
  


**Buttmunch**

_ \- Holy shit. I retract everything I've ever said. _   
  
That message was followed immediately after by a gif of Captain America trying to lift Mjolnir in the movie that had the words He's Worthy! flashing over top of it.   
  
Lup laughed fully as Paloma spotted her and waved her tongs at her over the counter,    
  
"Lup! How is my dziecinka! Not with you today?"   
  
"Morning, mamaie! Nah, he's getting to sleep in, can I get......"   
  
Enburdened with a large brown bag, Lup went back to her phone.   
  


**Evil Twin**   
- _ Also the suit needs to be able to strike him double dead _

By the time Lup arrived, Taako was dressed in a stylish but comfortable outfit and ready to travel  _ after _ twin fashion time had completed and answered the door with a cup of coffee in hand.    
  
"I hope you know that this time of day is  _ illegal." _

Lup kissed his cheek and held up the paper bag,  "I'm paying the fine, and besides, how often do you get to dress me up?"   
  
Pushing past him, she tossed the bag on the kitchen table and waved at Kravitz,   
"I brought a chocolate orange one, Krav, just leave the kolaches, she put them in there for Angus."   


Kravitz nodded appreciatively and reached for the bag. He was completely awake, but thoroughly distracted by his work phone. The slightest frown crossed his face and his brow was just barely creased with concern.   
  
“Thanks, Lup.”   
  
Spinning to meet Taako's gaze, Lup put her fists on her hips, "Anyway, this is a competition and  _ I'm going to win it. _ "

Taako hooked her arm in his and strode back towards his bedroom, “That’s the spirit, Lulu. We’re gonna knock his fucking socks off.”

Lup squeezed against him before pulling away towards the closet and flinging it open. It was a walk in deal, with a small corner for a selection of various Kravitz tailored suits and shirts. The rest was taken up by the extravagance that was Taako realizing he had  _ room _ and  _ income _ . She pawed through several dresses, pausing to admire a couple before moving on. Taako vastly preferred pastels and draping fabrics while Lup loved bold primaries. Well, that was the nice thing about transmutation.    
  
“Have any ideas, Koko?”

Taako was lounging on the foot of the bed, somehow managing to hold his coffee cup like it was a cocktail and he was day-drinking at half past sun up. He considered the question for a long moment, looking over his closet and then looking at her.   
  
"Okay... okay okay okay... Depends on the brand you're shooting for. What  _ flavor _ of knocking the man dead do you want? Because there's the 'take me now on this restaurant table' look or the 'innocent young thing taking her first steps in the world' or the 'punk princess' or the 'recent widow of a dearly departed millionaire who died under mysterious circumstances.'  _ Personally, _ if I were you, I'd go for something flirty but not too bold. Maybe a retro pastiche... I must still have that cute modified a-line... Because that, with a belt..." Then he trailed off. "Any idea what Barold is wearing?"

“His suits from the sixties, probably. He’s got a couple in the back of the closet...” Lup frowned and took a hanger down, “this is  _ my _ leather jacket, Munch.” Putting it back, she considered. “The dress I’m thinking some kinda classic look... maybe little black dress? The  _ suit _ ....” She tapped a fingernail against her teeth and considered, “S’gotta be red carpet amounts of tailored. He admitted a weakness, I intend to exploit.”

"If he's pulling out the retro shit, you absolutely have to go classic, Lu. Let's see..." He pulled out a black dress with short skirt, considering it for a long moment. "Deffo want something with a good waistline. We both know an empire does you no favors. Maybe... No, definitely not this..." He put that away and pulled out another. "And I borrowed the jacket. You just never asked for it back."   
  
Taako ended up considering five different dresses before handing one to Lup. "I'll need to do a little work on it but that's like two minutes tops." Then he moved away from his side of the closet and into Kravitz's. "Color me unsurprised, by the way, that your bisexual disaster of a man has a weakness for  _ suits. _ He has  _ eyes, _ right? Who doesn't love a good suit? Fuck, I can't even pretend to be into women and Lucy Liu in a suit is like a religious experience."

“She’s barely pretending to be mortal anymore, so you’re probably not far off- “ Lup took the dress out into the bedroom to hold it up in front of the mirror, grinning. It was a black, sleeveless affair, mid-knee length, and perfectly Classique ™ .... barring the design cut out on the chest that would trail right between her tits.   
  
“Oh  _ fuck _ yes, this is perfect. You’re a genius and I love you.”

"Throw in something with a little color, a jacket or whatever. Maybe a shawl? Do you even own a fucking shawl, Lulu? Whatever, just add a dash of color so it really pops. Then you'll really stand out." Taako took down a suit, examining it for a moment. "If you can  _ really _ pull this off, color coordinate the nerd.  _ Please _ tell me he's going to wear a straight tie and he doesn't think bowties are cool anything but ironically."

“Tan France disagrees with you ~” Lup placed the dress on the bed and hip checked Taako as she went to run her hands over his accessories. Her hand lingered by a rainbow colored scarf before unhooking a burgundy shawl and holding it up for approval, eyebrows raised.

"I'm  _ sorry, _ did you just take the name of Tan  _ in vain?" _ Taako had one hand to his chest in shock. Then he gestured airily. "He's got the wrong face for a bowtie. He'd just look like an even bigger nerd."   
  
Lup rolled her eyes and hooked the shawl around her neck while running her hands through the rest of her options, “Does Kravitz know you’re stealing his suits?”    


Examining a silk suit, he looked over at her. "He knows how important this is. Gotta make sure you're properly equipped for this  _ battle." _

Lup blew him a kiss and folded the scarf carefully to put next to her chosen dress, “I can color change his ties, at least. I know for a fact he hasn’t bought any news ones since, again, the sixties. Angus got him this one with rocket ships on it and if I didn’t know better, I’d accuse you of corrupting my kid.”

Taako merely shrugged. Then he grabbed a narrow tie from his side of the closet. "We can tailor this up for you. Kravcakes won't mind as long as I set it back when we're done. Go change so I can take it in right."   
  
He considered the jacket for a long moment. "We might need to tailor him a suit for that night too... Because if you think I'm going to let Bluejeans and his sixties fashion clash with this..."

“Awwww, you  _ softie _ ,” Lup took the pants and a silk shirt from Taako and headed for the bathroom, “don’t think I don’t notice!” She was plucking at the shirt in a disgruntled way as she exited again, the other hand trying to keep the pant legs from dragging on the floor. Kravitz was longer in the leg than she was, but by a lot of hard work she was still wider at the hips, “Fuck, I’m not wearing the right bra to adjust this one...”

"We can deal with that. Now hold still while I work this." He grabbed his kit from the desk and and dug around in it until he'd found a length of thread. Walking a circle around her, he began to tie knots in the thead, watching the suit begin to slowly morph and change until it looked like it fit better. Then he began on the detail work. "How's that feeling? Are you planning on matching that with flats or heels?"

Lup stretched out her legs, feeling much less squished, “I have those oxfords I was wearing at the con, I’m already pressing my luck with the fuckin’ six inch heels for the dress.”    
  
As Taako kept circling she felt herself relaxing in a way she hadn’t since Tess had knocked the ring box across the floor. “Not to be too sincere or anything, but.... thanks for this.”

"Hey, if I can't be there for my favorite sister, then who  _ am _ I, really?"   
  
Finishing the last details, he nodded. "Okay, you should be good. And we've got one of those travel bag  _ things _ for it around here somewhere." Then he stopped, standing right in front of her. "You sure you're good with this, Lup? Because if you wanna run again... we can do that."

Lup blinked at him, her mind racing ahead to what they would need to pack, the cash they could grab, emptying their accounts... just hers, obviously, not theft. Truthfully, they could be at the airport in two hours or the bus station in one, be across the border by the next day and be on a plane-    
  
Her eyes flicked past Taako to his closet, the one he shared with a man who practically worshiped him, who helped fund the many little luxuries Taako had craved for decades and-    
  
Disappearing was a lot harder now than it had been the last time they’d needed to. And it would be just them again, Lup and Taako against the world, scrambling to survive, beholden to no one.    
  
It was.... not appealing.    
  
She grinned lopsidedly at him, “Nah. This is a good change.”

Taako gave her a grin. “Holy shit, Barold passed the test. I’m stunned. Absolutely fucking poleaxed. Catch me, I’m going to  _ faint.” _ His tone couldn’t have been more sarcastic. But then he hugged her tightly. “You deserve this, Lulu. You got me?”

Lup squeezed him back, burying her face against his familiar, bony shoulder, “ _ We _ deserve this. We got what we wanted, and it’s going to stay that way.” Pulling back she scrubbed at her eyes with the back of her hand and grinned, “I mean... I DID say there wasn’t a man alive who could keep my attention for very long.”

“So you went and found a dead one, you fucking nerd. I hope you know I’m going to embarrass the fuck out of you at the wedding. I still remember the shit you used to pull when we were kids.” He briskly packed both the dress and the suit and handed her the travel bag.    
  
“I don’t know how we’re going to get embarrassing baby stories about Barold short of like  _ necromancy, _ but those are lengths I’m willing to go for you.”

Lup threw the bag over her shoulder and hugged him around the waist,    
“Not if I use those stories at your wedding  _ first _ . See, I recall having to do all that shit to get you out of trouble ~”    
  
She kissed his cheek and headed out of the bedroom to grab her bag of pastries and held it out to Taako,  “Grab yours, babe, I’ll see you both innnnnn-“ she glanced at the clock and winced, “three hours.”

* * *

Three hours later, Barry had dropped Tess off for another visit with Lucretia (and Diana, the cat she had recently acquired for herself saying she missed Tess when she wasn't cat-sitting) and gotten all three kids into the car and ready to go. Keats seemed to be the only one who was properly awake, with Savannah curled up against him in the backseat. Taako and Kravitz would be meeting them at the train station, so all there was to do was get there.   
  
Keats was absolutely ecstatic when he realized the train station didn't have the same kind of intense security that the airport did, including zero checkpoints with zero annoying TSA agents who get jumpy around nervous teenagers. Still, he stuck close to Lup. Savannah had both hands full, carrying both her suitcase and a backpack, but she still had her tail wound around Keats' wrist in the casual way they had. Unfortunately, she had a little bit of homework she had to do over break, a matter of a rough draft that was due the first day back. ("That's my secret, Keats, I'm always doing homework."  "That sounds awful." "Did you just totally miss my sick Avengers reference? Have you not seen Avengers?" "I read it as a kid??")

As Lup got their tickets stamped and baggage checked, Angus flopped across a bench to claim it for the family while he scanned the minor amount of crowd for Taako and Kravitz. He  _ still _ didn’t get why anyone needed to pack more than a carry-on, what if you needed something or had to change directions suddenly.    
  
Still, he hadn’t gotten out his kindle yet, the train station was much more interesting to look at. With security less of an issue, there was more variety in clothing, and people tended to look a  _ little _ less harried than in the airport.    
  
He glanced at Savannah, who was trying to do some of her rough draft while Keats talked to her and decided to play his ‘guess where they’re going based on their clothes’ game to himself. Lup came back and tossed her carryon between him and Savannah and stretched up high, “Any sign of the uncles, lil man?”

As if summoned, Kravitz and Taako turned the corner. Kravitz looked austere as ever, his suit perfectly tailored black silk. Taako was on his arm in a different outfit from earlier, this one still comfortable looking and easy to move in but somehow gave the illusion, especially paired with the lace parasol he held, of an antebellum gown with hoops and a bustle. Somehow.   
  
Barry dropped onto the bench next to Angus, putting an arm around him, "Excited for your train ride, bud?"

Angus nodded, eyes caught by the rhinestones dangling around the brim of Taako’s hat,    
  
“I like the part where we can walk around the most. Can we just pick our seats or-“    
  
He was interrupted as Lup leaned over the back of their bench and swiped for Taako’s hat, “What the  _ fuck _ , bro? If this turns into Murder on the Orient Express I am  _ solidly _ blaming you-  _ both _ of you.”

Taako snorted and pulled back, getting his hat just out of reach, "If anything turned into a shitty mystery novel, you want Agnes Christie over there."   
  
Savannah started to open her mouth, closing her laptop in confusion, but Keats put a hand on her arm, "Uncle Taako does this. It's normal."

Angus leaned past Barry to grin at Taako, “and I’d suspect  _ you _ the most, Uncle Taako. You’d be the mysteriously widowed belle who just can’t believe how this could have happened.”   
  
Lup cackled and shoved her bag off the bench to make room for them.

Kravitz chuckled quietly, “Tell me, Angus, does that make me the corpse or am I the widow’s new lover who helped to commit the crime?”   
He offered Taako his arm and they moved to sit on the bench, looking for all the world like two misplaced extras from a period film beside a family from some sort of modern comedy that was probably made for Netflix.

Angus swung his legs, considering this carefully, “The corpse. But it turns out you faked it after Taako collects the insurance money.”    


“You should write this down. It would be an interesting story.” Kravitz smiled at Angus. “Or maybe a movie.”

Angus blinked and looked thoughtful, reaching for his kindle.    
  
Lup snorted, and leaned over Taako’s parasol, “Is... is this your  _ wand? _ ”

Taako grinned and held out the parasol, “Natch. One hundo percent concealed and fashionable, while also functional. Isn’t it great?”

Running her hand over the parasol, Lup’s ears flicked up in interest, “That’s  _ nice _ . Now I want one....”    
  
A pleasant sounding woman’s robotized voice came on the intercom then, calling for boarding.

Barry raised an eyebrow but said nothing. He had a radio antenna shoved in his back pocket. He had no room to talk, “Come on, folks, let’s get this show on the road. Or at least on the train.”

Angus jumped up and swung his bag over his shoulder as his family stood up and moved around him.   
In a way, he was glad they all stood out so starkly from their surrounding passengers. Between Taako and Kravitz, Mom radiating her OWN personal ‘Notice Me’ field, and Savannah’s bright red hair, it would be hard to lose them.    
  
He stuck next to Dad as they moved along the concourse to the train, listening with half an ear to Mom and Taako’s habitual banter as they led the group into the train and started bickering over how to choose a seat. He hoped they would choose one with a table, it was getting harder and harder to cram his legs into the space between seats on public transportation.    
  
Kravitz cut in with an acidic response to one of Mom’s remarks and they all laughed.    
Angus frowned. He knew Kravitz wasn’t American by birth, but no one could quite pin down  _ where _ he had come from. And the accent he’d just used wasn’t the awful Cockney he sometimes slipped into when he was talking with Merle, Magnus, and Taako.    
  
As they claimed a whole corner of a car, Angus eyed him across the walkway and tugged Savannah’s sleeve, “Why do you always look nervous around Uncle Krav?”

Savannah glanced uncertainly over at Kravitz and then looked down at Angus, her tail flicking back and forth, “We just got taught as kids to be careful around him. I guess... he knows Grandad.” She paused then, significantly. “And Grandad is scared of him.”   
  
Keats looked up at that. He’d had more than one occasion to meet the demon lord affectionately known as Grandad, including being sat down for a talk after he and Savannah started dating, and he would have sworn to any god you chose that Grandad wasn’t afraid of anything in or out of the planar system.

Angus got out his phone and opened the notepad to start typing things, “Why? He’s weird, but he watches the Good Place with Dad and spoils his cats and he can do his own hair.”   
  
Across the aisle, Kravitz and Lup were getting into a heated debate about Russian violinists.

“I don’t know.” Savannah chewed her bottom lip and her tail reflexively wrapped tightly around Keats’ arm. “It’s... I think it has something to do with what he does or... maybe with who he is? I just know I grew up on stories about this terrifying figure dressed all in black and his name was Kravitz and then I met him and... yeah... Can’t you feel that?”   
  
Keats shook his head. “No magic, remember?”   
  
“And I barely do more than the normal Tiefling junk, sweetie. Your uncle Feels dangerous.”

Angus scowled, “his magic isn’t  _ bad _ , it’s just... it’s cold and there’s a lot of it.” Still, he typed out what Savannah had said, thinking about it hard.    
  
“Alright if you’re going to be like  _ that _ , I will fuckin’  _ fiddle you down _ , Kravitz!”    
  
Angus glanced over, but Mom’s ears were up and she was crouched over her side of the table looking excitedly predatory. Taako was laughing;    
  
“You just started playing again after, what, ten fuckin’ years, Lulu?”   
  
“Are you  _ doubting _ me? That’s the harshest betrayal since you STOLE my pecan pie recipe.”   
  
“Uh, I think you mean  _ improved- _ ”   
  
Angus turned back to Savannah and shrugged, “He’s not any weirder than the rest of the family.”

Savannah was staring at Kravitz like a deer in the headlights but then she shook her head a little and turned back to Keats and Angus.    
  
"If you say so, short stack, but I'm not convinced. And I said nothing about  _ bad, _ I said dangerous."   
  
Keats leaned in, his voice low and a grin on his face, "I heard that when Mom asked one of his coworkers what he is, she went all pale and said it was classified."

Angus typed that out too, “Lots of things are  _ dangerous _ , doesn’t mean you gotta be afraid.  _ Mom’s _ dangerous too, and Dad would have taken the whole hotel apart in February when we were looking for Keats.”    
  
Kravitz leaned forward, smiling one of his small  _ real _ smiles with his half elven ears pricked up that was all the emoting they could really do, “I’m really more of a pianist, but if you’re  _ offering- _ ””

Barry perked up at that, "Oh! You play? I uh... I do too. I mean... I don't... uh... Okay, it's complicated. I've never actually touched a  _ piano _ but my mother was a pianist before she moved to America, I guess? And she taught me on the kitchen table from when I was like... three. She chalked the keys onto the table and I memorized songs with her humming them. So... I can  _ probably _ play?"

All three adults turned their attention to Barry, Kravitz looking thoughtful, Taako elated, as he  _ finally _ had ammo for his embarrassing best man stories, and Lup looked like she might cry in delight.    
  
“I would... very much like to see if that works, to be honest,” Kravitz admitted, leaning back and tapping his chin, “muscle memory is amazing that way.”    
  
Angus typed more on his phone.

"If you uh... ever get me in the same place as a piano, I'd be glad to give it a try." He closed his eyes, resting his hands on the edge of the table properly. He hadn't done this in... years, even ignoring the decades alone. But as he began to hum, it all flowed back. He sat up straight, fingers moving across invisible keys. A smile slowly crossed his face.

Lup rested her chin in her hand as Barry played a song only he could hear, wondering if it would work as well with an electric keyboard and promising herself right THERE she would acquire one to try.    
  
Taako met her gaze across the table and waggled his eyebrows at her before making an exaggerated mirror of her own expression. She stuck her tongue out at him and glanced at the kids’ table,    
  
“You guys wanna check out the dining car?”

Keats shot straight up and Savannah started laughing, pulled up by her tail that was still wrapped around his arm, "Heck yes! I'm  _ starving!" _   
  
Savannah freed her tail, shaking her head a little, "I swear, Bluejeans, its like they don't feed you."

Lup rolled her eyes and got up, fishing for her wallet, “Are we day drinking on this trip?”

Barry snorted. "Only if there's  _ decent _ beer in the dining car."   
  
Taako had decided he was now sleeping in the minute and a half Lup wasn’t looking, leaning heavily against Kravitz who merely shrugged. "I couldn't possibly move him. It would be like moving a sleeping cat. Entirely against the law."

“Oh  _ great _ , you said it where he can hear and he’s gonna make you put that in your wedding vows,” Lup reached across the table and tweaked Taako’s ear,   
  
“Babe! Screwdriver or no?”

Taako swatted at her hand. "Screwdriver  _ yes. _ And let me get a nap in. Fuck, you had me up before the  _ sun, _ Lulu. I deserve this."   
  
Keats was bouncing in the aisle. "Are we going or not?" 

Savannah shoved him lightly, a grin on her face, "He says it like he didn't eat 3 pancakes before we left."   
  
"I was hungry! I'm still hungry!"

“Fuck, fine, go ahead and see the menu,” Lup dropped a kiss on Barry’s head before leaving, “if they just have shitty beer, I’ll get you a coke, babe.”    
  
Angus followed after Keats and Savannah, pushing the doors open between cars with a lot more force than he had expected to need. As they walked through, he glanced at all the other passengers with open curiosity. Every series of seats was like a little world by itself.

Keats was a boy on a mission, and that mission was food retrieval. They had figured out why he ate so much at least. Somewhere at the intersection of permanently being caught at the peak of his metabolism mixed with needing to eat more in order to sustain a physical form, Keats Bluejeans could probably lay waste to an entire buffet without too much effort. Savannah walked just behind him, tail wrapped around her own leg to keep it out of the way.

Angus caught up with them at the counter as Lup brought up the rear. She glanced at Angus’s shirt pulling back from his wrists and winced internally, recalling long ago consistent hunger when she was at that stage. Still, she brightened at the thought that it might  _ bring up _ memories of being unable to afford much, but she  _ could _ feed them without trouble. General life improvements everywhere. She pointed at Keats when the cashier looked at them brightly, “he’s going to take a while ordering, can I see your beer list?”

Keats blushed. "I don't want  _ that _ much... Just uh... Oh, they've got pretzels! Can I get one of those and uh... and a soda?" He turned to Savannah and she smiled at the cashier.    
  
"Just a peach tea for me, thanks." She glanced at Lup. "I can pay for mine. Grandad sent me with pocket money."

Lup waved her away, “save it for the museum gift shops or whatever, sweetie, this is in the budget. Ango?”    
  
As Angus ordered, Lup sent a picture of the beer selection to Barry,    
  
- _ ask Krav if he wants anything besides water, we’ve got houuurrs _   
  
“I’ll have a Moscow mule, a screwdriver, annnnd- hold on.... oh, ID, yeah here.”

_ \- Krav says he wants an arnold palmer. And just get me a coke. _   
  
"If you're sure, Ma'am." Savannah put her wallet away and leaned casually against Keats. He rested his head against hers, mindful as ever of her horns. His hair had grown back out since the summer before, the dark hair having faded to a curly brown that had confused Barry the first time he realized. He still wasn't entirely sure that Keats wasn't dying his hair but no one could claim he looked much like Edward any more.

As Lup paid and loaded most of the food on the kids to carry back, one of the conductors came up behind the cashier and smiled broadly at Lup,    
  
“Just know that we are here to serve  _ attentively _ to our passengers’ every need, ma’am.”   
  
Lup paused in the middle of balancing her drinks tray and blinked at him, “uh.... super cool, uh-“ she glanced at his name tag, “-Jenk....ins, we’re doing fine. So far.”   
  
Angus sipped his drink and stared back at the conductor solemnly, the cashier looking like he wanted to be anywhere else than between these two.    
  
“....we’re going back to our seats now....” Lup turned and headed back to their car, ears easing back.

Keats was watching the conductor for a long moment, chewing his bite of pretzel. Then he swallowed.   
  
“I like your bow tie.”   
  
And he turned to follow as they headed back.    
  



	4. You Know ;)

Taako was actually asleep rather than faking by the time they got back, curled up against Kravitz. Barry was working on the crossword puzzle from the paper and he looked up with a smile on his face as they returned.

 

Lup slid in next to him, pinging affection down their link and scooting the drinks tray into the middle of the table,    
  
“Cheers, babes, here’s to better serving sizes than airplane food.”    
  
It was a full eight hour trip, but between excursions to the food car, Lup teasing Taako into showing how truly and spectacularly awful he was at card tricks, and Keats and Angus stalking the weird conductor named Jenkins up and down the train, the time passed easily.    
  
At one stop, Lup insisted on leaving the train for the few minutes they were there and tugged Barry along with her, leaving Angus within both Keats and Kravitz’s line of vision.

 

Savannah had curled up against Keats any time he was sitting, her laptop on her lap while she worked on hammering out as much of her paper as she possibly could. She'd decided if she could get as much of it done on the train as possible, she wouldn't have to sit out of anything on the trip to finish it.    
  
"Are you two done harassing the poor conductor now? I know he's weird, but you could just let him do his job."   
  
Keats stuck his tongue out at her and then hugged her. "That's up to Angus."

 

Angus scowled at the notes he’d been making based on what he’d learned about Kravitz over the last year,  “If he didn’t keep showing up any time I go anywhere without Mom, I wouldn’t keep following him  _ back _ .”    
  
His list included such things as;    
- _ wont admit to age (older than Merle?) _   
- _ speaks lots of languages (accents weird) _ __   
_ -hates necromancy _   
- _ is classified _   
- __ references to gods like they’re people and he’s met them

 

He glanced at Kravitz and Taako, both of them curled against each other and looking at their phones quietly. Kravitz had a small frown on his face.   
  
The intercom pinged overhead, warning all passengers that the train would be leaving soon.  A few moments after, Lup opened the door at the end of the car, ears up and pink, a smug expression on her face. Barry was a half step behind her, the same flush to his cheeks and his curls more than a bit messier than they’d been a few minutes before. He dropped into his seat and put an arm around her as she sat. Then he kissed her cheek.  
  
“Wanna help me with this uh... this puzzle, babe?” He picked his pencil back up and tapped the Down clues. “What the fuck is a Kardashian? Is that like a Cardassian but spelled wrong?”

 

Lup cackled and Taako glanced up from his phone to give them both a once over,    
“You both are  _ disgusting _ . Within my very sphere.”    
  
“You’re mad I thought of it first,” Lup was unrepentant. “It’s a family that’s famous for being famous, babe. They’d make good Cardassians though....” she settled against him, still smug.

 

“That seems very... uh... Sure, why not.”   
  
Keats just shook his head, very much ignoring his parents and uncles right then. Instead, he leaned over to see what Savannah was working on. It was some interesting stuff. Analysis of bias in first person historical documents. Very cool. For the rest of the ride, he watched over her shoulder, asking questions while she worked on her outline.   
  
When they arrived in DC, Barry couldn’t wait to get off the train. He’d finished his puzzle and done several more on his phone and he couldn’t relax enough to just nap like Taako had. That and every time he’d gotten up to get a soda or go to the bathroom, that weirdo conductor was there smiling. It was like one of those weird existential horror flicks he’d seen in the sixties, the ones where the rest of the audience was dropping acid and he couldn’t figure out why because the movie was horrifying enough as it was.

 

Angus followed his parents up the steps of Union Station, bringing his phone up to take pictures of the arched ceilings.... and getting a few with Kravitz in them just to see if they maybe got weird like ones with Dad in them seemed to.    
  
Lup brought up her phone and pulled her map around, frowning down the street.    
  
“Alright, it’s either a fifteen minute walk, or an eight minute drive. How much we feeling-“    
  
“ _ Please _ walk?” Angus could feel a whine creeping into his voice, but he was so TIRED of sitting. “I’ll carry an extra bag, but I don’t wanna sit down again....”

 

Keats nodded, already hoisting his bag onto his shoulders. "Please, Mom? We've been stuck on the train for literal hours and it was  _ awful." _   
  
Barry shrugged and picked up his bag. "I don't see why not. Fifteen minutes isn't too bad. That okay with everybody?"

 

Lup glanced at Taako who rolled his eyes but swung his parasol in a circle over his luggage (plural) which started trailing after him. Kravitz was frowning at his phone again and looked startled as Taako elbowed him,    
  
“Hmm? Is there a problem?”    
  
“We’re headed this way, Bones, try to keep up.”    
  
It actually took somewhat longer than fifteen minutes, between the early evening foot traffic, stopping to take pictures, and Lup reading her phone wrong and take them a full block the wrong way.    
  
Angus barely noticed; the city was  _ exciting _ , a brand new place and completely different from Boston before. Still, his stomach was growling by the time they trekked into the hotel lobby and Lup’s ears eased back slightly as she looked accusingly at Taako.    
  


He grinned, “Krav chose it, Lu, it’s HIS credit card.”    
  
Kravitz looked up from his phone finally seeming to come back to them fully, “hmm? Is something wrong? This is the one I stay in whenever I visit.”

 

Barry looked around and then shook his head, looking at Kravitz. He had long since come to the conclusion that Kravitz just didn't have the same concept of cost as everyone else. Sure, he didn't really  _ either _ but that was because inflation was wild and he was still trying to adjust after two years.    
  
Soon enough they were upstairs in the two sprawling suites Kravitz had arranged for. Taako and Kravitz had a suite to themselves. Barry and Lup would have a room in theirs and the kids would have a room of their own.    
  
A moment after getting their bags in, Keats came running into Barry and Lup's room with his ears sticking straight up.  "There's a hot tub in our  _ bathroom!" _

 

“Don’t have sex in it,” Lup said without thinking, hanging the travel bags with her and Barry’s fancy clothes in the closet. The moment of silence behind her caught her brain up with her mouth and she peered over her shoulder,  “....that was the wrong response, right?”

 

Keats' eyes were huge and his ears had flicked straight back. He was rapidly turning very red;  **_"MOM!?"_ ** __   
  
Savannah, standing in the doorway behind him, looked just as embarrassed, tail flicking quickly, "We won't, Ma'am! Promise."

 

Lup made a face, ears flicking back, “...sorry. Yes, it is cool. How's the shower setup?”    
  
Angus peered in the room then, mercifully having missed Lup’s comment,  “How does the mini bar work? Because they have the weird KitKats from Japan and I want one.”

 

Barry was flipping through a welcome book and his eyebrows shot up,  "Hey babe, did uh... did Kravitz say  _ anything _ about how much he paid for this place because uh... Mini bar's  _ comped." _ He looked up then. "No alcohol for any of the three of you.  _ Especially _ not without one of us there. Got it?"   
  
Keats nodded, rolling his eyes a little. Savannah nodded as well. She liked a drink now and then (even if she wasn't twenty one yet) but she wasn't about to drink in a hotel room with her boyfriend who didn't like that stuff and his eleven year old brother. That was  _ weird. _

 

“He said, and I quote, ‘you said a vacation’ and ‘this is the safest hotel for miles’.” Lup made a face, “I didn’t ask why he used THAT phrasing....”   
  
“That means I can have the KitKats right?” Angus was backing away heading for their room door.

 

Keats grinned. "That means we can eat anything in there we want." And then he took off running, trying to beat Angus to the mini bar.  Savannah followed after, laughing as she ran. All the awkwardness in the air after Lup's comment was gone, replaced with a pair of teenagers who wanted junk food.    
  
Barry watched them go, shaking his head,  "This hotel has no idea what kind of uh... what kind of mistake they've made telling Keats he can have all the junk food his heart desires."

“Honestly, since this room probably costs more per night than we pay for food in a month, I’m fine with them taking that hit,” Lup finished hanging up all the fancy clothes and setting out her shoes and pushed her suitcase on the floor so she could flop on the bed. “Dinner.... is someone else’s problem.....”

 

Barry snorted and tossed the welcome booklet back on the desk. Then he sat beside her. "We could hand the kids cash and tell them to go get pizza. Get the room to ourselves for an hour or so." His tone was just this side of teasing. Then they heard Keats, his voice just slightly higher than normal.   
  
"The door is still open,  _ Dad!" _

 

Lup cackled loud enough for all of them to hear, “Does this mean you DON'T want to get a pizza?”    
  
“I want pizza!” Angus appeared in their doorway again, an open green tea KitKat bar in his hand, “can we order a case of these?”

 

"Yes I want pizza, but it's like... the principle of the thing??" Keats had grabbed his jacket and Barry laughed as he handed him some cash and an extra room key.    
"Pizza and back. During the day time you can uh... you can wander a little, but only as long as you stay together. Not at night. If you need anything, call. Any questions?"   
  
Savannah had tugged another of Keats' jackets on, zipping it and pulling the hood up with a smile. "No, Mr. Bluejeans. And don't worry, I'll keep these boys out of trouble." She stuck her tongue out at Keats and Angus and headed for the door.

 

Angus snapped two bars off his KitKat and handed them to Barry before darting after Savannah. “A whole case!”   
  
Lup closed her eyes and relaxed as the door shut after them, “I love our children and I love my brother, but I’m already regretting the amount of Family Togetherness...”

 

Barry handed Lup a piece of KitKat and popped his into his mouth, chewing thoughtfully. Then he made a horrified face and got up, “I hope there's  _ chocolate _ in that thing. Because that was... that was awful and I need to not taste that."

 

Lup chomped hers and grinned, “Artificial flavoring is a helluva thing, babe.”    
  
He returned a moment later with a plain chocolate bar and flopped back on the bed to eat it. "And it'll be fine, babe. Starting tomorrow, we can all uh... we can all do our own things. It's not like the kids are, you know,  _ kids. _ They're big enough to survive a museum trip on their own if we wanna split. Or... whatever."

  
Lup licked her fingers and arched up in a stretch, “Gotta... gotta make sure Ango doesn’t get left outta things with all these fuckin’ couples....” She glanced up at Barry and grinned, “Hey sooooooo... we never finished that fun in the alley from before....”

 

Barry's eyebrows shot up and he swallowed that bite of chocolate. A slow smile crossed his face and he turned towards her, "So uh... does that mean you do want me to push you against a wall and go down on you? Because that offer stands."

 

“Mmmmmmmmmmyes......I should stand up for that, right?” Lup rolled over on her stomach and grinned at him, “You look cute with your hair all mussed, eff why eye.”

 

Barry chuckled quietly and leaned over to kiss her, “So I’ve been told.” He ran a hand down her back and then shifted to slide back off the bed. “I’ve uh... I’ve got a fun idea, if you’re game.”

 

Lup’s ears flipped up in interest, “ _ there’s _ a dangerous phrase. Absolutely, whatcha got?” She sat up and scooted to the edge of the bed, draping her legs over the side.

 

He offered her a hand up, a teasing smile on his face. "No muffle charm. Just like if we were uh... if we were still back in that alley." Pulling her to her feet, he kissed her lightly. "Think you can do it, babe?"

 

Lup draped her arms around his shoulders and chased his mouth for a deeper kiss, “You’re awful and I love it. Should, uh...” she glanced into the rest of the hotel room, “should probably still shut the door though...”

 

"Oh definitely. I wanna have fun, not scar the kids for life." He stretched and went to close the door. Then he turned to face her again. "Maybe get the charm set so you can uh... can activate it if you need to. Just in case. Not that I'm saying I doubt you. Just that uh..."

 

Lup stuck her tongue out at him as she went to rummage through her bag, “Someone has a very high opinion of himself ~” Walking over, she leaned around him to drape the charm on the door handle, pressing their hips together. “-Not unearned, but-”

 

"Just being cautious." Then he turned, wrapping his arms around her waist and kissing her deeply. She leaned against him, little swirls of her power reaching out to twine against his wherever they touched, and sighed happily into his mouth. 

 

It was... it was so easy to keep loving Barry minute to minute. To learn something new about him, or lean against his familiar weight, or watch his face as he talked about something he loved, and she- Well, she wanted to KEEP doing that. For years and years and forever. 

 

She also wanted his mouth on her clit soon in a very real way.

 

Barry considered for a moment, trying to decide the best way to go about this. Then he grinned and guided her across the room towards one of the outside walls, right beside the window that looked out onto the city. He pushed her against the wall, just a bit roughly, and kissed her again. Lup hit the wall with a soft exhalation of air right before Barry’s mouth was on hers, and she couldn’t stop a soft whine at the back of her throat as he pulled away and down

 

Reaching one handed, he started to undo her jeans. He kissed the side of her neck and tugged them down just enough. Then he dropped slowly to his knees. 

Running her hands through his hair, Lup concentrated on keeping her breathing even and shallow; normal. Very difficult with Barry looking up at her through his curls with a shit eating grin on his face. He kissed her thigh, still grinning. "Gotta stay quiet, babe. Or we're gonna get caught." He kept his voice low, just above a whisper. "Don't want that, do you?"With another tug, he had her panties down and now all of his attention was focused there. He had one hand on her hip and ran one finger over her clit, just barely touching.

 

Lup bit her lip and nodded, breathing sharply in through her nose at his featherlight touch. Curling one hand in his hair, she placed the other flat against the wall, pushing hard for grounding.

 

Barry pressed another kiss into her hip and then licked a stripe down her clit. He was humming appreciatively, leaning into her touch. His eyes were on her as he took her in his mouth, watching for her reactions instead of listening like normal. There was something about this whole scenario he'd spun, the idea that they could be caught at any moment even if it wasn't true, that left his heart pounding and his cheeks flushed.

Everything with Lup felt so _right_ , even as she pushed him to be more than he was, even as they pushed each other. He wanted this to be forever, needed it. And it would be. He was so sure of that now. It was a surety he could feel in the core of his being, unshakable and solid.

 

Barry’s gaze on her as he moved down felt like burning, and Lup couldn’t look away. Couldn’t tilt her head back and let herself Feel while encouraging him on, and it was torturous and heady. She was already chewing at her lip, swallowing back the whimpering moans that clawed up her throat. Searching for any outlet, she flared her side of their bond wide open and sent all her desperate pleasure down it.

 

Gods, she was beautiful. Barry had both hands on her hips now, eager and needing as he held tight enough that he was sure his fingers would leave bruises. Her pleasure was flooding his senses, leaving him moaning around her as he tried and failed to choke back the sound.

 

Lup’s head went back with a soft ‘thunk’ against the wall and she brought her hand up to cover her mouth, attempting to muffle the soft whining noises she was making even with just breathing through her nose. Her fingers tightened in Barry’s hair as his hands pressed bruises into her hips. The muffled sounds she was making, her desperate attempts to keep quiet, drove him on. He pushed her hips back against the wall again, holding her as still as he could while he picked up his pace, making sure to worship every bit of her.

 

Lup bit down on her palm, wavering, her toes curling as she drew alongside her edge,” “Babe-“ her voice choked off and she tugged his hair, urgently, “fuck Bear-“

 

He pulled back just slightly and looked up, face flushed and pupils blown wide with lust and love and need. He let go with one hand, running his nails along her leg. He was trying for more than just making her come, he wanted to push the bounds of this little game and see if she really could stay as quiet as she thought she could.

 

Lup choked again, biting her palm hard, and closing her eyes against the picture of Barry’s face, breath coming in high wheezing noises through her nose until there wasn’t enough of it- 

“Shit-!” She arched over him, hand flying from her mouth to his shoulder for balance as she keened softly.

 

Barry rested his hands on her hips again, bracing her. Then he looked up at her and smiled. “So, good idea? Something to uh... to add the ideas bucket or nah?”

 

Lup cupped his face in her hands and bent the rest of the way to kiss him, breath still coming hard. “You- are a fuckin’..... evil genius, is what....” She stood back up again, trying to get back under control, appreciating the firm feeling of Barry’s hands on her hips,  “Not sure, I, uh, not sure I can quite follow that up yet, but.... but give me a sec-“

 

He stood slowly, only then realizing how shaky his legs were. Laughing, he braced himself against the wall and kissed her again, “Take your time, babe. You uh... That was really hot.”

 

“Mmmmmm?” Lup hummed into Barry’s mouth, hand sliding down to cup the front of his pants, “No kidding, babe. Someday you’re going to break a zipper, I fuckin’ swear.” 

Giggling, she pushed him back towards the bed, leaning down to nip at his neck.

 

Barry fell back onto the mattress and laughed. "If I do, it'll be all your fault, babe," he shifted a little, giving her more access to his neck. "Seriously though, give me like... a minute? Or uh... I'm absolutely gonna be a two pump chump and that's a damn shame."

 

“Oh gosh darn it, I’ll just have to-“ Lup trailed kisses down his throat and nipped at the curve of Barry’s neck where bruises tended to be renewed long before they ever healed. “What a crying shame, such a travesty....”

 

Barry whimpered, fingers tangling in her hair instinctively. ”Lup, I wasn’t k-kidding.”

Lup ran her tongue over the bruise and pulled up to press a softer kiss to the side of Barry’s mouth, “Is this trend of you getting off to getting me off gonna keep going, babe? Because I’m very into it~“

“I don’t know that you fully uh... fully appreciate how sexy you are and how much the sounds you make drive me insane.”  He shifted a little, trying to get to his fly to get his jeans off. They were far too tight and honestly completely superfluous at this point.

 

“I sure don’t mind be told over and over...” Lup scooted down, hands working at Barry’s zipper, running her hand over the front of his boxers. “Gods, speaking of unbelievable amounts of sexy-“ She tugged Barry’s jeans down further, grinning evilly up at him.

 

He wiggled a little more, trying to tug his boxers down. “I’m gonna keep telling you over and over until... until the fucking heat death of the universe, babe.” He managed to tug them down and then met her eyes, recognizing that particular grin. “What’ve you got in mind for me, Lup?”

 

“Repaying the favor mostly... stealin’ your idea for sure, how quiet can you be, babe?” Lup pulled his jeans down fully so she could kiss along Barry’s thighs, drawing her nails lightly along his legs.

 

"I...I can do that. I can." He took a ragged breath, his eyes on her. The way she looked at him confused and amazed him sometimes. Left him gasping for air like a drowning man. He couldn't believe, even now, that she would look at him like he was the one that hung the moon in the sky when it was so obvious that she was the sun.

 

Lup smiled against his thigh, ears flicked up happily. Reaching for his cock, she ran her hand down it, humming in satisfaction before licking the head, glancing up to meet Barry’s gaze, and tilting her ears cheekily as she took him into her mouth. Feeling Barry warm under her touch never failed to cause a bloom of satisfaction in her gut, and moreso when he was already worked up like this. And he  _ was _ warm, or very nearly so. It was as close as he got outside Beltane. His eyes were on her, his mouth hanging open. A shiver ran down his spine at that first touch and he only barely got his fist to his mouth in time to quell the first moan that shook free of him.

 

Lup’s ears were up and flicking as she pulled back and swirled her tongue around him, one hand pumping in time, the hand running her nails along the back of his thigh. Barry's hand in her hair suddenly tightened and he grabbed frantically at the blankets, all pretense at silence lost. A shaky moan tore out of him, one that turned into a ragged chant of her name almost like a prayer.

Lup’s ears flared pink and she redoubled her efforts, pressing her nails in harder as she pushed in to the patch of hair at the base of his abdomen. Even as she sped up, Lup kept ear tilted towards the door, ready to thread her magic through the charm dangling from the door handle.

 

Barry's head went back and his hips snapped up as he came. He clenched and unclenched his fists and then fell back against the blankets, breathing hard, "H-holy shit... I... holy shit. Lup, that was..." Then he grinned. "I really... goofed the uh... the silence bit, huh?"

 

Lup sat up, wiping her mouth and grinning, “Sure as fuck did, Bear. Guess I’ve got something to challenge you on next scene.” Flopping next to him, she pressed a soft kiss to Barry’s temple.

 

He rolled the side and wrapped an arm around her waist. “I'm gonna need practice. At least a few times. How's that sound to you?"

 

“Deffo for sure, maaybeee gags if you can’t get it right after the first time?~” Lup pressed against him, purr starting in her throat. Her phone buzzed on the nightstand and she grumbled, not wanting to leave the comfortable circle of Barry’s arm.

 

Barry tensed and then shook his head, “Hard no on those, babe. Intellectually, I know I don’t need to breathe but uh... but the anxiety doesn’t.” He glanced over at the phone and made a grumbly noise. Then he reached his hand out and the phone jumped to him. Admittedly, the battery was about ten percent lower than before. “Here you go, babe.”

 

Lup bumped her head against his, sending calm love across their bond. She glanced at her phone and laughed, showing him the screen. It was from Angus; 

 

- _ heading back to the hotel now, Keats says if you don’t have pants on he’s going to lock you out of the room _   
  


Barry skimmed it quickly and then started laughing, “Guess we should put our pants on so we don’t uh... don’t scandalize the kids, huh?”

 

“He’s going to have to get used to me being topless at least, sooner or later. I refuse to be the only one sweating in a bra this summer,” Lup stretched, arching her back and huffing out a long groan before sitting up and reaching for Barry’s pants.


	5. Chapter 5

Sunday morning dawned cool and with a light fog hanging over the ground. Barry got up early to put on a coffee for him and Lup. A moment later, he kissed her forehead and set the coffee cup down on the nightstand beside her. “Morning, babe.”   
  
Lup blinked up at him and smiled sleepily, giving a brief purr as she stretched, “ _ Good _ morning, [beloved].”

In the kids’ room, Keats was already awake and doing his morning stretching and exercise routine while a sleepy Savannah lay on her stomach and watched him. Angus lay on his back in the other bed, scrolling through his phone at the list of events and displays at the spy museum. “Do you think we can do the lock picking event? I brought my kit...”

An hour or so later, they had gotten everyone bundled off for their first day of sightseeing. Barry had his hands in the pockets of his jacket as they walked down the sidewalk towards the expanse of green in front of them.   
  
“So this uh... this is the National Mall. Very educational. Lots of uh... lots of monuments and stuff. Real important parts of history. And we’re doing the spy museum today too, right Lup?”

“Yeah, that’s the fun shit. This one is for pictures in front of the Lincoln memorial so we can say we did.”   
  
Lup linked her arm with Barry’s and waved at the kids,    
“Meet in front of the Washington monument in a couple hours, until then, be free.”

Keats nodded excitedly and reached for Savannah's hand.   
  
"See you later! Come on, Angus."  
  
Then he turned and headed off across the lawn towards the reflecting pool. Savannah looked back, laughing as Keats headed off.   
  
"How many hours is a couple hours, Ma'am?"

“Two or whenever we’re bored and or hungry!” Lup leaned against Barry as they walked off, more focused on where would make good selfie lighting, intent on getting at least one where Barry didn’t look like a haunting specter.   
  
Angus ran ahead of Keats and Savannah, wanting to get a few gym badges before they maybe made him slow down and pay attention to monuments and all that. The Lincoln memorial was enough to slow him down from running and he was waiting at the top and breathing heavily when the teenagers caught up. Keats was staring up at the statue in the center of the memorial with a look of deep respect on his face.    
  
"What do you think, Angus? Have you studied the Civil War yet?" Keats wasn't sure. It seemed like Angus' middle school classes and his junior high classes were totally different.

“We did a unit on Gettysburg, and June has all the Addie Walker American Girl books,” Angus tugged a Calm Emotion bead as he looked up at the large statue of a human man. The sculptor had given him a kind face, which Angus thought was better than the stern faces on all the official portraits of the older presidents. “I like him better than Jefferson or Washington.”

Keats frowned a little at that, “Well yeah, Jefferson was an asshole but... Washington was a really good man...”   
  
Savannah squeezed his hand, looking up at the statue as well, “Differences of perspective, sweetie,” she slipped her phone out of her pocket to look at the screen, “Oh sweet, the gym’s red.”

Angus glanced up at Keats, wondering if he ought to point out the obvious, and decided that was a thing Lup could probably do. Instead he dug out his phone, “not for long it isn’t!”   
  
They wandered out of the monument and down towards the memorials, Angus checking his map occasionally. “There’s Korea on one side and Vietnam on the other. I wanna see the Roosevelt one too....”

Savannah was looking at her phone, in the process of snagging another gym and she nodded, "Oh yeah, we absolutely have to see the Roosevelt one. You know, he hid it really well, but did you know that the Roosevelts are mostly Tieflings?"   
  
Keats' ears flicked up curiously and he leaned in to take a look at Angus' phone, quickly oriented himself on the map and then walked off. Savannah looked up when he was about twenty feet away.   
  
"Sweetheart, where are you going?"   
  
He gestured in front of him, off to the left of the reflecting pool, "The map said it was this way."

Angus shrugged and put the map back in his bag as he helped Savannah take the yellow gym. "It's closer, I guess, we can always swing across again."   
  
The wall of dark, reflective stone had a muffling effect on the rest of the world, and Angus was distracted from his game long enough to frown and put a hand on it.    
  
It was....there were echoes of magic running along the wall. Not built into it, but more like the stone under the museum in Boston, under the space exhibit. Lots and lots and lots of people reaching out and touching the wall and leaving a bit of themselves and their emotions behind.

Savannah wasn't paying even a bit of attention to the memorial, or to Angus. Her eyes were on Keats. His ears were flicked back now, one hand just shy of the reflective stone as he looked at the names. She stepped up beside him, not really sure what to say. His expression was worryingly blank, his eyes distant. Savannah reached for his hand and then looked at Angus for help.

Angus wasn't looking at her either. Frowning, his hand running along the stone, he watched as name after name trailed under his finger. Obviously, he knew people died in wars and big disasters, they were always listing numbers on tv and in his textbooks. But this was  _ names _ and the leftover sorrow and grief and awe under his fingertips turned them into  _ people _ .    
  
And there were so many....    
  
Moving closer to Savannah and Keats, he finally noticed the expression that had been worrying her. Leaning against Keats, he wrapped an arm around his waist.    
  
“[what are you looking for, big brother?]”

Keats was quiet for another long moment. Then he touched one of the names, fingertips just barely skimming the smooth stone. "[I knew him.]" Then he took a shaky breath. "[I wasn't looking for anything in particular I just...]" He pointed at another name. "[He taught me how to play poker. How to  _ really _ play, not just the rules...]" And another. "[He was in my patrol.]"   
  
And then Keats went silent and the air around him felt cold. And there it was, just under his fingers.  _ Keats Étonnant _

Angus glanced up at Savannah, not sure how much of this she could follow. The name Keats was touching was just slightly above Angus’s head and hard to read at this angle.    
“Eh- Ee? E- tone- ant... is that your House name?”

Savannah didn’t speak Elvish, not even the slightest bit. She could, however, recognize the tone of his voice and the set of his ears. She leaned against him despite the chill in the air.    
  
“Étonnant.” He said it quickly, the name coming to his lips easily despite everything he’d said about how his House could die in a fire for all of him. And how could it not? He’d answered to it for most of his life. “It’s French... but yeah. That’s... that’s right.”   
  
“Keats, do you want to go? We can look at something else if you want.” Savannah sounded worried and her voice was soft. She didn’t quite want to insist, but she also wasn’t sure how to read the distant look in Keats’ eyes even as he spoke to them.

Angus looked from the wall to Keats and back again. He wasn’t sure Keats wanted to go, mostly because he was  _ pretty _ sure Keats was having one of those flashbacks, only without the panic.    
  
He was suddenly and firmly reminded that Keats was  _ dead _ . Usually the cold body and need for a harness was just... just how his [big brother]  _ was _ . But no, Keats had DIED and remembered how he died and reset to his death every time he removed his harness.    
  
And all the names around his were dead too. It was.... it was big and vast and yawning like the ocean in front of him. 

He tugged Keats’ sleeve, “[Big brother, I want to go.] We wanted to see the Roosevelt monument, remember?”   
  
_ Not _ the Korean War one. He didn’t think he had the emotional capacity for that.

Keats shook his head a little and then looked at each of them in turn, blinking in that slow way like he was trying to line what was going on in his head back with reality. He put an arm around Angus' shoulders and gave Savannah's hand a gentle squeeze. "Yeah, let's... let's go." He licked his lips, looking away from his name starkly etched into cold stone. He could see other people walking along the path, some of them young, some of them older, some would stop to look for names. Nodding again, he took a breath. "Where is that?"   
  
Savannah kissed his cheek and gave his arm a little tug. "This way, sweetie."    
  
She wouldn't admit it until much later, but this moment got the gears in her mind working. Most of the time, she forgot that Keats was dead, even if she knew it objectively. It was hard to remember when she was holding his hand or curled up in his arms. But this... It reminded her of a conversation she'd had with Grandad, a conversation she would need to revisit in a few years. But that was a problem for future Savannah and right now she just wanted to go see Keats smile again.

* * *

Lup stretched up, catching a fading cherry blossom in her hand and plucking it off the branch. 

  
“Yannow, babe, they’re super pretty, but probably not the best, uh,  _ best _ marriage symbolism stuff, ‘specially for us.”

Barry wasn't really looking at the blossoms in that moment. He was watching the way the sun gilded her skin and the way the flowers haloed her. Then he blinked a little, brought back into reality by her words.   
"What? Why not?"

She dropped the blossom in his hair, admiring the way the pink stood out against his brown curls, “They’re for the fleetingness of beauty and a reminder of mortality.”    
Reaching for another handful, Lup grinned, “‘Course that just means some elf and human marriages used to be called Sakura marriages, if that tells you anything about people.”

Barry snorted a laugh."I've gotten all the reminders of mortality I need, thanks. I'm good. Full up on the uh... the memento mori." Then he reached for a few petals himself and looked at them in his palm. "It's a nice reminder though that we  _ won't _ have to go through that though. We've got forever." Then he blew the petals at her and laughed.

Lup batted them away, laughing, and hooked their arms together again.    
  
The Mall was rather crowded, enough schools off for spring break that plenty of other people had the same thought as their family, but Lup didn’t mind much. They weren’t in a hurry and she wasn’t interested in the line for tours of the Washington Monument, which she tilted her head back for and snorted, muttering about it being a symbol for every other dick measuring contest in Congress.    
  
The World War Two memorial was slightly better; no names, just a fountain that the breeze was blowing a nice mist off that felt good in the growing heat.

Barry was more quiet as they looked at the monuments, wandering the Mall together. He supposed it was a difference of background, probably something that had a lot to do with growing up listening to his mother talk about how amazing it was to be here instead of in Europe where she had grown up, how many more opportunities he had. It was something he would never forget. As they stood together, he leaned against Lup and watched the water fall back into the fountain.    
  
"This one is nice. Peaceful, you know? It's uh... it's real fitting. Nothing too big, nothing too loud. Just... peaceful."

Lup wrapped an arm around him, humming agreement, “Its  _ tasteful _ .”

They had circled about halfway around the area before she scowled at a plinth, ears pinning back, “Speaking of taste, who the  _ fuck- _ ”   
  
One of the informational plaques had been painted over with a  _ quite _ recognizable symbol; a couple tourists were eyeing it uncertainly and she could spot phones out and pictures being taken.    
  
“Fuck all  _ this, _ ” Striding over, she stared at the paint, fingers tapping against her leg. “Babe? What’s the easiest way we can get this off, you think?”

Barry followed her gaze and grimaced. At first, it was just irritation that someone would deface a memorial at all but then the irritation gave way to righteous anger. How  _ dare _ someone do something like this? And why hadn’t anyone else done something about it before he and Lup had gotten there?

“Magic, probably. I could just uh... reset it to the way it was.”   
  
Lup tapped her chin, staring at the paint before nodding, “S’probably a couple hours old. This morning maybe, don’t go much farther back than yesterday, babe.”

Barry gave her a fondly exasperated look as he placed his hands on the plinth, “Give me some credit here, babe, if you’re not giving your brother any as a teacher.”

“I would  _ never, _ can you imagine his ego?”

Barry chuckled briefly before turning his mind to the solid feel of the marble and glass under his fingers. For a moment he could feel the difference in the molecules of the glass and the ink, one on top of the other as he began to remind the glass what it felt like  _ without _ the ink on top-

There was a buzzing under his hands and the feeling of nettles wrapping around his magic and shoving it away. He bit back a yelp as he yanked them away, shaking out his fingers.

“Barry?” Lup had a hand on his shoulder, concern radiating down their link.   


He winced, rubbing his hands together, “Feels like, uh, like a ward. Makes sense, but I don’t think I can fix it.” Annoyance radiated off him; it was maybe a little silly, since he hadn’t been able to fix things with magic for years, but...now he had it, it  _ should _ work when he needed it to.

Lup was frowning in thought at the graffiti, ears dipping, “Yeah, I guess that makes sense...dunno why they wouldn’t make allowances for physical defacing, but government magic and whatever.”

“They haven’t found a long-lasting ward that can tell the difference between paint and skin for a low enough cost.”

The speaker was an olive-skinned half elf woman in a black duster that looked slightly too warm for the weather, but considering the rest of her clothes, Lup accepted ‘because it’s  _ cool _ ’ as an answer. She dug in one of the deep pockets and pulled out a tiny bottle of hand sanitizer, “Here. It’ll take permanent marker off.” The smirk she gave Lup was lopsided-

“Sometimes magic...is harder…:”

There was a beat between them that Barry didn’t quite catch before Lup laughed heartily and took the bottle, shuffling through her own purse for some of the napkins she’d shoved in there after lunch on the train, “My brother says it’s the lazy way that takes more work.”

Dumping a large squeeze of the hand sanitizer on the glass, she rubbed at it with the napkins, something in her gut unclenching as the sigil smeared and wiped away in a few moments. Handing the bottle back to the half-elf, Lup gave her most dazzling smile,  “Thanks for the assist, babe; I’m Lup, this is Barry, you gotta name?”

“Sloane,” the woman smiled back, less lopsided this time, “nice to meet you, though maybe not the nicest circumstances.”

Barry brushed his hand over the cleaned surface, feeling the discomfort ease. Then he grinned at Sloane as well. “I mean, I personally think your timing was fantastic.”

She gave them both a lazy wave, still grinning, “If you say so. Have fun with the rest of your day, folks.”

As she turned, the crowd parted a bit, showing a slightly worried looking halfling woman, who brightened when she saw Sloane. They headed towards the sidewalk together and melted into the crowd.

Lup hummed and linked arms with Barry again, 

“They’ve got the right idea, babe, c’mon; more tourist shit.”


	6. Chapter 6

Taako had insisted firmly on going to the Mitsitam Cafe that was part the Smithsonian, though it still took a couple rounds of phone tag to find him and Kravitz and all three kids. It wasn’t till Lup had the idea to check her Pokémon go app that she laughed and led them to a corner where Angus and Savannah were tapping furiously at their phones with a group of other tourists.

Keats was standing next to Savannah, looking around at the group of people that had gathered for this... whatever. Raid? Battle? Mew two? Then he spotted Mom and Dad and grinned.   
  
"Lunch time?"   
  
He nudged Angus.   
  
"How much more time on that thing, monster?"

“We’re almost done I’m on my second team SHIT that was one hit then we have to catch him Dad I can trade you this one since you didn’t catch yours last time-“    
  
There was a whoop from someone else in the group and Angus beamed. 

"Uh... yeah, sure. That's the... the person one, right?"   
  
Savannah turned very slowly towards Barry, a look of confusion on her face. Then she shook her head a little, "Right, you missed the 90s. Sorry, Mr. Bluejeans. Forgot for a second there."

Angus yelled in triumph and jumped up and down, waving his phone in the air. One of the other tourists, a small orc girl pushed forward with her friend code screen up and motioned at him, saying something in Korean.    
  
Lup glanced down as her phone vibrated, “Let’s hurry this up, lil man, your uncle’s getting hangry.”   
  
“Yes! Okay!” Angus took a picture of her screen and gave a thumbs up before running over to them, “we can trade at lunch!”

“Yeah, bud.” Barry shook his head a little, a smile on his face. He was glad they enjoyed this game, even if he didn’t always get it. Putting his hands back in his jacket pockets, he turned to head towards the restaurant.   
  
When they got there and had been seated, Keats was staring at the menu uncertainly. Savannah had already picked and was looking around the room at all of the interesting things there were to see. Taako was investigating his menu the same as he had when they walked in, even after he ordered, waving the waiter away and running his finger over the ingredients in each line. Lup privately wagered there would be new, specialized episodes of his webseries in the upcoming months.    


Kravitz had greeted them warmly and put his phone deliberately away to start engaging Angus in a conversation, which Lup found slightly more unnerving than the way he had been staring at it when they came in.    
  
Angus was more than happy to bring up his phone to show them the pictures they’d taken next to the statues of FDR.    
“Savannah got mad because the sculpture didn’t show his feet in any of them.”

Savannah's tail flicked like an angry snake and she all but threw her hands in the air, "It's revisionist history! They're portraying him like he was human! It's... it's...  _ bullshit." _   
  
Keats looked up then. He was pale again, ears flicked back. He took another sip of his soda and then looked at Lup. When he spoke, his voice was quiet, "I found my name."

Lup had been watching Savannah with enough interest that she almost missed Keats’ low voice, but she swung her gaze around to meet his as soon as the words hit her brain, ears low and eyes wide, “What do- oh  _ shit _ , the wall... fuck, Michen....”   
  
The waiter came back with the drinks the twins had ordered then, and ready to take down the orders of everyone else. Taako was finally persuaded to relinquish his menu.

Keats waited until the waiter was gone, holding Savannah's hand tightly under the table. She was looking at him with worry in her eyes again. He'd been quiet since they left the memorial, but she hadn't thought much of it. Now she felt guilty for not saying something sooner. He was still pale and a bit cooler than usual despite his jacket.   
  
"It's... it's just... weird, you know? Seeing it like that? I don't... It feels um... not great?"

“No, I can’t imagine it, uh shit, like.... no, there’s no reason for it to....”   
  
Lup was regretting sitting across from Keats now, ears twitching as she held herself back from getting up and draping over him. He was still a teenager, after all, and might not appreciate the gesture in public. 

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Taako leaning back and staring at the ceiling, and took a brief moment to be amused at how much he did not really want to be IN this display of emotional honesty. 

After a moment, Keats looked down again, “Maybe I shouldn’t... I mean, I don’t wanna ruin lunch. This place is really cool. And... sorry.”   
  
But Barry shook his head, the same worry in his eyes, “You should be able to talk to us, bud. About anything. And that uh... that anything absolutely includes shit like this.”   
  
“Can I maybe call my therapist later? Does she do that? Or would it be too late when we get back to the hotel?”

“Text her now and ask, I can always go back to the hotel with you after lunch if it is.”   
  
Taako’s ears flicked in minor protest, there had been shopping plans for the two of them, but didn’t say anything.

Keats glanced over at Taako, noticing the movement, and his ears flicked back again, “No, no, it’s fine, Mom. I’ll figure it out.”

Lup’s eyes narrowed, but the first round of food interrupted her thought, Kravitz leaned forward with a mention of something they’d both seen while passing the White House, and after that everyone was too busy chattering over the food to return back to the topic of turning in early.    
  
“Good, now hit ‘confirm’ there, and-“ Angus grinned at the little animation, “Now we’re  _ ultra _ friends.”   
  
Lup was making a token protest at Kravitz getting the bill  _ again _ , though she subsided once Taako elbowed her. As they all headed out, Angus clung to Barry’s hand, practically vibrating at the thought of the Smithsonian. Lup slung an arm around Keats’ shoulder and bumped her head against his.    
  
“Hotel yes or no, michen?”

Keats was startled by the sudden question and he leaned against her. His ears flicked back and he put his phone back into his pocket, "I'm... I'm okay, Mom. We don't need to change the plans. Promise."

Lup eyeballed him, ears akimbo, “Did you  _ text _ her though?”

Keats swallowed hard and his gaze flicked over to Taako. Then he shook his head.

Lup frowned deeper, tugging him away from the group, waving Barry forward, “Hey... michen, what’s up? You know she’s not going to mad at you for asking, s’what she’s THERE for.”

Keats' ears flicked down and he closed his eyes, "We had  _ plans. _ I didn't want to... to screw things up. That's all. I can be okay and we can not have to change our plans."

“We had an  _ outline _ , mostly so we don’t spend this whole day going ‘I dunno what do YOU wanna do?’” Lup kept her tone light, ears casual, “Nothing in this family happens according to plan anyway, so why start now?”

"But... Mom, I..." He didn't know how to put it to words, how to wrap the words around the core of worry that filled him now. He kept seeing that annoyed look on Taako's face, kept seeing it morph into that look Lydia used to get when he disrupted something. Like the time he'd gotten sick during a school break in fourth grade and started throwing up while they were on vacation. She and Edward had taken care of him, sure, but they'd been annoyed about it. About changing their plans.    
  
And more than that, he didn't know how to read Taako, didn't know how to separate those looks from the insistent voice in the back of his head that said he was doing something wrong, that he was wrong.   


"I just don't want to be trouble..."

Lup’s eyes flicked to Barry’s back as he followed Angus, glancing back to see if she needed help as unease filtered across their bond mixed with the beginnings of the background anger that always tried to flare up when she saw something learned from Keats’  _ siblings _ .    
  
Still keeping her voice light, she shoved her hands in her pockets to keep and rocked back and forth on her heels, still unsure of the level of contact he needed, “Well, if you’re going to feel shitty at the museum or shitty at the hotel room, which one leaves you feeling better tomorrow? S’your vacation too, y’know.”

Keats looked uncertainly her, then the rest of the group. He scuffed his sneaker against the sidewalk, "S-sorry, Mom. I just..." He took another breath, looking down. "Does... does Taako hate me?"

Lup's ears and head went back, glancing from him to Taako, who was mercifully NOT looking at them, to Barry, and back to Keats.   
  
".....No....?"   
  
The things that flashed through her mind ('He just likes Angus better' , 'he's BAD at being a person,’, ‘you know he likes people by what type of asshole he’s being' ) were true but unhelpful. "He.....just has no idea how to relate to you, and....and you don't fire back like Angus does? So...." She shrugged, a bit helpless. ".....If he can't figure out a problem, he ignores it."

“Sorry…..” Keats’ shoulders were hunched, his expression closed as he stared at the ground.

Barry glanced back at her, then at Keats, reading a longer conversation in Lup’s expression and emotions than sticking around would help. Sending her a wave of encouragement, he put a hand on Angus’s shoulder and drew the group away from the two of them. Lup nodded, then again more firmly, sending love after Barry, and let him tell Savannah they were staying. She took Keats' hand and led him to a bench on the side of the restaurant patio.   
  
"Nothing to be sorry for, michen. I'm just lost as to where you're coming from. Seems like two or three different things at once, and I  _ still _ think you need to text Winifred about today, because gods know that's....that's just out of my WHEELHOUSE...."

Keats sat and leaned against her, starting to purr in a need to comfort himself. It was hard to pull together everything that was stirring, all of the feelings that had boiled over into today.    
  
"I just... He... He says things and... It's like listening to  _ them. _ And I don't want him to be mad at me because I'm just... I need... I need  _ something? _ To... to talk to Winifred, I guess? But I just... I  _ know _ he doesn't like me screwing up his plans. I  _ know _ that face. I know what it means."

Lup's first instinct was to stiffen, ears pinned back and ready to jump to the defense of her brother. But if there was anything she knew,  _ really _ knew....it was that Taako was, in matter of fact, An Asshole. She consciously relaxed and started her own purr over his, while she thought.    
  
"I mean, first off, Taako can be huffy all he wants, he's not-" Lup sighed, purr fading out. "Look....it's always been just us, right? And you, and Barry, and Angus, you're all...you're new additions, and that's not a BAD thing, just...just means there's going to be readjusting." She squeezed his shoulders tighter,  "And it's  _ my _ job to make sure you're doing okay above hang time with him, right? That is  _ more important _ to me, michen, and if he gets sulky that's on me to handle, not you."

Keats sighed quietly. He wasn’t convinced, not really. Everything he’d learned in his life to that point had taught him that even just thinking someone was being taken away would change a person in bad ways. Still, he  _ did _ believe Mom about what her priority was here, at least. And at least he knew that Taako was the only thing he had to worry about. Savannah had seen him like that before, or worse. She didn’t, couldn’t, understand completely, but she could empathize and make sure that somehow, someway, he got what I’m needed in those moments. Even if it was just a hand on his to bring him back to here and now. This was nothing she hadn’t seen before and she hadn’t run yet. But he was still afraid of what Taako might... not do, necessarily. Say, more likely. Keats had so many jagged edges, so many places for the words to catch in and pull and tear.    
  
“I’ll send her a text...”    
  
Maybe Taako was a problem to talk to Dad about? He understood better about somethings. Like Edward and Lydia things.

Lup’s ears eased back briefly before she flicked them up in a deliberate manner. That didn’t fix the problem, and she knew it wouldn’t but  _ still _ ....    


Something to navigate long term, then. Maybe talk with Barry before Taako... which was still an odd feeling two years later.    
  
“Good, let me know if we should leave. And michen....” she hesitated, trying to line up her thoughts, “....if it were Angus getting sick or having a panic attack, or whatever, you KNOW we’d cancel whatever we’re doing. So just... extend yourself that same thought, right?”

Pulling his phone out, Keats found the app he was supposed to use to text Dr. Winifred and stared at it for a long moment before sending off a short message. Putting it away again, he tugged on one ear, looking at her, "That's not the same though. He's a kid. And Taako  _ likes _ him. So it's definitely not the same at all."

"You would be happier in life if you had fewer fucks to give," Lup stretched, flexing her feet. Honestly, the thought of heading back to the hotel even for a short nap was appealing at this point. "-No, I wasn't criticizing, michen. You want me to talk to him, or is this a thing for me to step off?"

Keats gave her a lopsided smile. "I used to get told I care too much about things that don't matter. Winifred told me that's a crock of bullshit. In those words, even." His phone buzzed and he looked down at it. "She says she can in half an hour."   
Standing up, he considered her question. "I... dunno. I'll figure it out though, Mom. I promise."

“Yeah, like I said, not a criticism at all,” Lup pulled her phone out and texted Barry their change in destination. “That enough time for us to walk to the hotel, anyway. C’mon boyo, I bet they’ve restocked the minibar since we’ve been gone.”

He nodded a little and shoved his hands into his pockets. He was quiet as they walked, at least for the first block. Then he looked at her, "Thanks, Mom."

Lup reached out to link their arms together, “It’s not a problem and neither are you.”


	7. Chapter 7

Angus stuck his quarters and penny in, and turned the crank on the pressing machine until he had the design he wanted and pushed the button. There was something intensely satisfying about watching it get squashed and come out more interesting.    
  
As it clinked into the holder, he glanced up at Taako who was leaning against the pillar next to him, casually, looking through his phone.

Barry was still lost to the Apollo to the Moon exhibit, and Kravitz was wandering the hot air balloons.    
  
“Mom says I’m supposed to keep Dad from buying anything else with a NASA logo on it.”

 

Taako snorted a laugh and stuck his phone back in his pocket, "Good fuckin' luck, kemosabe. You  _ know _ the only way he's gonna stop with the nerd brand is if we stage an  _ intervention." _   
  
Stretching languidly, he gestured towards the hall with the hot air balloons where he could see Kravitz. "Did Lup say anything about when she's gonna catch up with us or nah?"

 

Angus shook his head, running his thumb over the squashed penny, “Just that they were going back until Keats was done.”    
  
Taako’s phone blared Lup’s message tone over the last few words.    
  


**Evil Twin**   
- _ hey Munch, brunch and shopping tomorrow instead? Won’t even leave the hotel with other people _ .  _ pinkie swear _

 

**Buttmunch**

_ \- yeah yeah, totally cool. Crisis averted? _   
  
"Looks like Bones found something in the balloons. Wanna go see?"

 

**Evil Twin**

- _ contained anyway, hey if there’s any shirts with bad puns I want one _   
  
“Yeah, Okay.”   
  
Dropping his penny into the bag he’d gotten for this purpose, he glanced up at Taako, “Why do you call him Bones? Is that a Star Trek reference or a sex pun?”

 

"Are you allowed to say that shit? You're like...  _ five." _ Taako ignored the question though, walking towards the hot air balloon exhibit.

 

“I turned eleven in  _ March _ , you were  _ at _ my  _ party _ ,” Angus sped up to keep pace with Taako, grinning a little. Taako didn’t broadcast his emotions in his ears like Lup did; instead he tended to emote with his hands. For Angus this made everything he did so much easier to read since that was  _ one _ person at least he didn’t have to keep craning his neck up for body language clues.    
  
Taako’s hands had jerked when he asked his question, which meant it was an interesting answer.    
  
“It’s a Star Trek reference, isn’t it? I’m gonna tell Dad-“

 

"It's not a fucking... Don't you  _ dare,”  _ Taako turned, staring down at Angus, arms crossed over his chest and fingers tapping on his upper arm. "It has to do with him  _ animating a fucking stegosaurus _ when we met. Okay? We good? Can we go stare at fucking balloons now, my dude?"

 

Angus stopped just short of slamming into him and blinked several times, “........... where were you with a full stegosaurus skeleton?”    
His hands itched to pull his phone out and type this new information out, but that might blow his cover.

 

Taako didn't respond to that. Instead, he walked over and draped himself across Kravitz's shoulders like a cat,  _ "Please _ tell me you found something worth staring at because ch'boy is so fuckin' bored."

 

Kravitz relaxed against his touch, smiling as he pointed at the display, “Depends on how you mean, love. Mostly I’m amused at the sort of clothing people  _ would _ insist on wearing even when it wouldn’t do them any good around small baskets and ropes.”    
  
Wrapping an arm around Taako’s waist, he glanced down at Angus, “And are you just as bored?”   
  
Angus shook his head, taking out his phone to snap a picture of the display (and both of them) and start typing what Taako had said, “No sir, I’m  _ much _ better at keeping myself occupied,” he grinned innocently.

 

Taako sighed dramatically, looking around again for anything that could hold his attention. The outfits on the dummies were at least passably interesting but there was something about staring into the expressionless faces of the mannequins that left him less than thrilled, "Can't we go to the pop culture museum?" He meant the American History museum. "I wanted to see the shit they've got over there."

 

Angus brightened, “They had science experiments over there, when I was looking.... and maybe muppets too.” Checking his phone, it looked like Barry was still enthralled, “Can  _ we _ just go?”

 

Taako gestured broadly with one hand. "Lead the way, my dude. You know where this place is, right?"

 

“Yeah we passed it on the way here!”   
  
Angus sent off a quick text to Barry and grabbed Taako’s wrist to pull him along.   
  
- _Taako’s bored and I want to see the Muppets we’re going to the American history one_   
  
It was... a much longer walk than Angus anticipated right off the bat, and his legs were getting tired. But everything was new, and there were plenty of pokestops and gyms to keep him occupied (he tried taking a yellow one, but stopped after Taako razzed the whole thing...... _twice_ )   
  
Still, climbing UP the steps just to get into the museum felt harder than it should have and the only reason he didn’t say anything was because you couldn’t actually complain BEFORE Taako or risk teasing forever.

 

When they got back to the room, Barry was carrying an exhausted Angus. It had been a long but enjoyable day at the museum and now they all very much wanted to eat and sleep, and of course make sure that everything was alright back in the room. Barry only stopped long enough to grab a room service menu before pushing the door open and carrying Angus inside.   
  
"Lup? Keats? We're back. How is uh... how is everything?"

 

Lup was stretched half off the little couch in the common room, reading her phone upside down, only looking up at Barry when he spoke. She grinned when she saw Angus, "Aw man, I didn't think it was possible to  _ do _ that to him this early in the evening. Yeah, we're all good here, I ordered in already, but I'm pretty sure anything else you order will not go to waste."   
Sliding off to stand up properly, she pointed at the bags in Barry's other hand, "If those are more NASA shirts, I swear to  _ Pan _ -"

 

Barry started laughing and went to go tuck Angus in, setting the bags down. When he reemerged, he opened the bag with a grin. The first thing he held out was a thin box about eight inches long. Inside was a necklace on a silver chain with an acorn in amber and silver hanging on it. Then he grinned sheepishly.   
  
"I uh... I bought myself another rocket."   
  
Savannah had taken her own bag and immediately sat with Keats. His eyes were a bit red from earlier but she didn't say anything and neither did he. They were looking through the book she'd gotten in the gift shop. Then she smiled and reached into her bag to hand him the box of wooden puzzle cubes she'd gotten for him. He laughed then, hugging her tightly.

 

"Rockets are fine, rockets stay in your workroom....." Lup opened the box and her eyes went wide. Glancing over at Keats and Savannah she did not do more than lean on Barry and nuzzle his cheek, though the heat she sent across their bond was very clear.   
  
"You  _ sap _ , is this a bribe? I can be bought, I'll have you know."

 

"Why would I be  _ bribing _ you, babe?" He put an arm around her and kissed her temple lightly. "I saw it in the gift shop and I thought it uh... I thought the amber part kind of looked like fire and uh... Anyway, I just thought you should have it."   
  
Keats was far too busy looking over the puzzle in his hands to pay any attention to his parents. Savannah looked up though, and grinned, whispering something to him and giving him a push towards their room.

 

"Oak trees are better than cherry blossoms," Lup rubbed her thumb over the acorn, ears pink. The movement caught her eye and she glanced up at Savannah, "You want dinner, hon? I ordered a lot, but I dunno what all you'll like."

 

Savannah smiled, a little embarrassed. She'd thought they were being subtle. "Now that you mention it, Ma'am, I'm starved." Then she nudged Keats. "And we all know he's a bottomless pit-"   
  
"Hey!"   
  
"You are. And I eat just about anything, so just point me at it and I'll figure something out."

"I ordered a shit ton of ramen, should be here any minute now-" her phone rang, "-Nice. I can get that. If Angus is awake can you see if he wants something?"   
  
The delivery gnome was waiting in the lobby when she got down there and it was still unnerving to walk out under that giant fucking chandelier that looked like it needed to be in a production of Phantom of the Opera.

 

Keats went into the other room, setting the box down on the nightstand before going to see if Angus was awake. He sat on the edge of his brother's bed and looked down at him.   
  
"Angus. Hey Angus. You awake? Mom got food."

 

Angus muttered into his pillow and stretched, rolling enough so he could see Keats’ face.    
  
“Whazzit?”    
  
Rubbing at his face, he managed to sit up halfway.    
“- y’okay?”

 

"Mom ordered dinner. She just went down to grab, and I quote, 'a shit ton of ramen.' So if you're hungry, you gotta get up."   
  
Keats smiled at the second question. He knew he still looked like a mess, his eyes were still red and he'd bruised one ear from how hard he'd tugged on it. But still, he put an arm around Angus' shoulders in a hug.   
  
"I'm... better."

 

Angus leaned into the hug, trying to work through his sore legs and overfilled brain, “Didja call... Winifred?”    
  


"Yeah, we talked for a while."

  
The word ‘ramen’ finally penetrated and Angus swung his legs over the bed.    
“M’hungry, yeah, okay. I have pictures, there was a whole section on movies from th’sixties.”   
  
Keats got up with him, stretching. He was, as ever, starving, but he was also  _ exhausted. _ He hadn't felt this tired since... basic, probably. And he sort of just wanted to curl up with his girlfriend and sleep but the allure of food was enough to keep him awake for now.   
  
"Neato. Anything good?"

 

“Lots of stuff from Lawrence of Arabia, and Taako liked the costumes.”    
  
Angus opened the door just as Lup came in, hauling bags that smelled  _ amazing _ .    
  
“Awesome, you live. Also I put bagels and cream cheese in the mini fridge for tomorrow if you sleep in.”    
  
Dinner was quiet, everyone too exhausted from the day to make more than a pass at talking about the museums. After, Lup crawled into bed while waiting for Barry to get out of the shower, grumpily staring at her texts with Taako and wondering exactly  _ what _ and  _ how _ to bring up tomorrow.

 

Barry toweled off and pulled his pajamas on before he walked out of the bathroom. He was pleasantly warm from the hot water and the flannel pajamas, even if he had to wear socks to bed to keep from waking her up later with freezing cold feet. Humming contentedly in his human purr, he wrapped an arm around her waist and snuggled close before pulling the blankets back down over them both.   
  
Then he nuzzled against her shoulder.   
  
"How uh... how'd everything turn out? Keats seemed okay when I got back but uh..."

 

Lup tossed the phone on the night stand and turned to burrow against his chest, enjoying the heat and weight of his arm across her waist.    
  
“Mmph, ‘okay’ is probably the best word. I left to grab breakfast stuff while he called and came back and he looked basically like you saw him when I got back.”   
  
She trailed off, discomfort murmuring at the back of her mind.    
“....I hate feeling bad at this.”

 

Barry was momentarily at a loss for words. Bad at this? Bad at... at what? At parenting? He kissed her forehead, feeling even more guilty that he'd gotten to spend his day with Angus and Savannah looking at rockets and old movies and a chair from some show he'd never heard of that was apparently from the 70s and really popular?   
  
"You're great at this. Not... not every day's gonna be perfect. And we both kinda goofed on today. I can't tell you how many times I looked at the map of the Mall and I didn't once think that... that maybe sending Keats off with no warning was a bad idea."

 

“No I mean... ugh-“ Lup scrubbed at her face and turned over to stare at the ceiling, still tucked against Barry.    
  
“I mean, yeah, that was a world class boner on our parts, but he said- fuck. Apparently he’s terrified of getting Taako mad at him for messing with our plans and I don’t... I don’t even know how to START fixing that...”    
  
She huffed, ears drooping, “-s’not like i can tell Taako ‘don’t have feelings about this thing’, and I don’t  _ think _ he’s said anything directly... he’s an asshole and plays favorites for  _ sure _ , but he wouldn’t... wouldn’t do anything I could kick his ass for...”

 

"You know... I uh... I was really worried about Taako liking me at first. Not just uh... not just because he's your brother but because I have a hard time reading him. It's..." Barry sighed, resting his head against her shoulder. "It's because of  _ how _ he does things. He'll say something that's mean on the surface and you uh... you have to dig down layers to find the good. If you know it's there, then it's fine. And I saw his good side so I knew enough to look. Angus found it too, and he gives as good as he gets. But uh... but Keats is used to things being the other way around. Me too for what it's worth. That the uh... the bad is  _ under _ the good or it's right out in the open. So Taako comes off like... Honestly? Like Lydia. And I don't know how to help with that either. Short of locking them in a room until they work it out."

 

Lup stiffened, “He is  _ not-! _ ” before biting back the protest and determinedly relaxing again.    
  
“......s’fair. I guess.” She wrinkled her nose, “-besides I only met her the two times she was trying to  _ kill _ me so I guess, I wouldn’t know....”   
  
She pressed her face against Barry’s shoulder and groaned.    
“I don’t know what to dooooooo, babe. And it’s BAD if he- he thinks he can’t even say he HAS opinions....”

 

"I'm not saying he's  _ actually _ like her, Lup. Don't get me wrong here. I'm saying that if you don't know him, and you're used to her, it's easy to get lost in the uh... in the similarities. And I don't think Keats has had a chance to see Taako's good side yet. Everything's been kind of... kind of crazy."   
  
He hugged her tightly, rubbing her back.   
  
"They spoiled the shit out of him, but... but I don't think they ever listened to him about important stuff, you know? It's not that they... not that they resented having him around. Far as I could ever tell, they loved him. But it's... I dunno, Lup. I can get how that might cause some problems. Especially when he's already in a bad headspace from seeing his name like that...  _ Fuck, _ I don't know that I could handle something like that. I know I've got a gravestone out there but I sure as hell don't wanna see it."

 

“Ew gross, I didn’t even think about- yeahno, fuck THAT shit.”    
She relaxed against Barry’s touch, listening to his weirdly slow but familiar heart beat.    
“.....it’s just not... not gonna be something I can fix, huh? Can’t just punch this one....”

 

He kissed her temple. "Not this time, babe. No punching. But uh... what if we asked Taako to take Keats somewhere for a day? Give them some time to get to know each other."   
  
He hesitated then, another thought in his mind that he wasn't entirely sure about. He brushed her hair back away from her face and rested his head against hers.   
  
"Okay, I'm just... shooting in the dark or whatever but uh... but is there any chance that Keats isn't... uh... isn't wrong?"

 

Lup frowned, “What, that Taako plays favorites? Of course he’s not wrong. Angus is his student and, I mean… he sets where his boundaries are pretty firmly. Keats is.... neither of us has had kids before, nephews are a new thing.”

 

"More than that, babe. Do you think Taako might be uh... jealous?" He hesitated just slightly. "I mean... Just guessing here, I don't exactly know what's going on in Taako's head but... I mean, it's only been two years and... and you guys went from living together to... to you sometimes having to drop plans with Taako for the kids and... and maybe... maybe he  _ is _ jealous."   
  
Barry sounded uncertain. He didn't really want to push this but at the same time, he wanted to put the thought out there just in case.

Lup went still, ears up. Slowly, she rolled over to press her back against Barry, staring at the wall.    
  
Her mind flicked back over the past few months, lunches postponed, scheduling conflicts that ended with ‘I’ll just see you at work’, plus the entire fucking conference fiasco....    
  
“That....I mean....” her ears eased back. “......maybe....”    
  
They saw each other daily, sure, talked over the weekends, but- 

  
Their lives were different, hers even moreso. Taako had a wedding to plan, but his life had not taken nearly as many twists as hers.    
  
“Oh.”

 

Barry held her close, wishing he could take it back and knowing that it had needed to be said,  "But we can fix that, right? We can... we can figure something out. We can find a way you two get more time together without you having to worry about the boys. It's not like... it's not like you're doing this alone. I want to help."

 

Lup felt a knot of worry in her stomach relax. Not  _ completely _ , but enough that she could breathe easily. Barry was  _ so _ good and always had her back without question, which was never a thing she’d looked for from  _ anyone _ beyond Taako and...and it was.... it was just  _ good _ .   
“I mean, it’s not like I’m running ragged or anything, just- just getting into habits, I guess. And now I know, right? Maybe a standing meet up night or... man,  _ fuck _ , this is  _ weird _ to think about.”

 

He chuckled quietly,  "At this point, is  _ anything _ not weird? I mean... see previously made point about uh... about me having a gravestone." He leaned up and kissed her cheek, "And it still doesn't answer the question of how to uh... of what to do about Keats. I mean, I'm very for just shoving the two of them at each other and seeing if it works out. I mean... maybe uh... maybe talk Taako into giving Keats some cooking lessons?"

 

Lup hummed, turning her head to catch his mouth in an actual kiss while she thought. “.....might work. It’s the only thing they’ve had in common so far.” She snorted, settling back in his arms properly. “Have to make sure it’s  _ his _ idea though, if I want him to do it.”

 

He returned the kiss, a smile on his face when he pulled away, "If anyone knows how to get Taako to do something, it's you. Alternately, we bring Kravitz into this... But I think you can do it." Chuckling quietly, he kissed her again. "And if that doesn't work, we can still lock them in a room. I recommend the uh... the basement? Keats'll be more comfortable on his own ground."

 

“We’ll call that Plan D for ‘maybe don’t’,” There was a brief moment when Lup considered chasing him again for deeper, more interested kisses, but exhaustion prevailed. “......have I mentioned lately I love you? It’s the weirdest thing, it keeps  _ happening. _ ”


	8. Chapter 8

The next morning, Taako was waiting for Lup in the lobby in a sun dress despite the chill. He had a leather jacket on over it, though not Lup's this time. This was a bomber jacket with the fleece around the collar and most definitely Kravitz's. He also had his parasol over his shoulder and was tapping his foot on the elegant tiles. When he finally saw her, he smirked.   
  
"And here I was starting to think you were gonna ditch me again, Lu."

One point to Barry; Lup stuck her tongue out him and looped their arms together.    
  
“As if I would pass up mimosas. C’mon, you haven’t complained about wedding venues for a whole two days, you must be nearly exploding.”   
  
She had gone for galaxy print leggings and birkenstocks, rather than jeans for once, and grinned evilly when he noticed her footwear.    
  
“You said  _ shopping. _ which means  _ walking _ , bro.”

He gestured down at his own heels. They were lower than usual, only kitten heels.   
  
"And I can walk in these just fine. Those are  _ soccer mom sandals. _ No, no, those are worse. Those are  _ Merle _ sandals, Lulu. Who  _ are _ you?"

“Someone who’s going to be wearing six inch heels in ten hours and doesn’t want to  _ die _ , Munch.”    


The tiny café wasn’t more than half a block away, surprisingly busy for a Monday morning. Though, Lup supposed most of the people here didn’t really have to work. Her outfit was given a  _ look _ , but they were ushered out to the nice patio overlooking a koi pond and given menus without comment.    


Lup eyeballed the crepe list, “So what’s new on the wedding front? You gonna give in and let us host it yet?”

Taako ran a finger down the drink list first, trying to decide which of the various breakfast cocktails he was feeling today. Probably just a mimosa, but there could always be something adventurous worth trying.   
  
"Not in your wildest dreams. Krav's boss apparently decided she's going to cover the entire thing and, fuck, I'm sure as hell not turning that down. He's talking about a destination wedding. Alright... in some place in Egypt I've never fucking heard of, but it's  _ warm _ there and its scenic."

Lup’s eyebrows shot up and she lay her menu flat, “ _ Holy fucking shit _ , babe. Travel and all that too?” 

"Natch. Travel and all that for the guests too. I mean, it's a short list, but  _ still." _   


Shaking her head, Lup leaned her elbow on the table, cupping her chin, “Speaking of  _ who are you? _ If I didn’t know better, I’d ask if this was some sugar daddy deal.”

He rolled his eyes at that, though he was fiddling with his spoon almost nervously. Instead of one of his normal flamboyant answers, he just said quietly, "It's not and you know it."

Lup smiled softly at him, “I  _ know _ , that’s the weird part, goofus.” She paused as the waiter came up to get their orders, making a face at his back after he eyeballed her leggings.    
Stretching them out so the sun caught the blues and purples of the print, Lup sipped her water and grinned,    
“So if I’m not  _ catering _ this event, do I get to be the flower girl? I’ve been practicing my aim, I bet I could get those petals on either side of Cap’nport’s mustache.”

If he pushed much more, he was going to bend the spoon. Setting it down perhaps a little too purposefully, he leaned back in his seat, the very pose of casual elf.    
  
"I mean, if you want to, but I figured we can make my  _ student _ do that. Let the kid show off some of his spell work even. He's picking up the throwing things around spells pretty quick." He picked up his water, more swirling the ice around than actually drinking it. "I was sort of thinking maybe you'd... Fuck, never mind, it sounds stupid."

“Oh now you  _ gotta _ tell me,” Lup sprawled across the table, hands reaching out in grabbing motions, “giiiiive meeeeee the deeeeeets! Can I wear a suit? I promise not to outshine your boy~”

"You can wear whatever the fuck you want, Lulu. But... ugh, no, I'm a grown ass elf and I don't need someone to walk me down a stupid aisle. I can do it myself. It's not like I can exactly fuck it up. Walk towards handsome man waiting for me and probably sobbing his eyes out because ch'boy is gonna be dressed to  _ slay. _ Easy peasy." He took a sip of his water and set it back down, his leg bouncing under the table.

Lup sat up fast, nearly knocking into the waiter as he came with their mimosas,   
  
“Oh shit, sorry, my dude-“   
  
Waiting for him to leave was one of the longest ten seconds of Lup’s life, and she leaned forward again, voice low,    
  
“ _ Taako _ , are- you’re asking me to walk you-?” She leaned back in her own chair, “fuck, I thought you just wanted me to play something. Bro, of  _ course _ I will....”

"Yeah, well... It's not like we've got  _ parents _ for that shit and I'm not asking... fuck, our  _ boss _ or his... his...  _ Merle. _ And I figure... you've been there for everything else so. It's right." He took a sip of the mimosa. "And you better not upstage me  _ or _ my man, Lu."

Lup blew him a kiss, grinning into her glass,    
  
“‘Course not, Koko,  _ I’ll _ be doing my own makeup, not you, so it will be practically impossible for me to look better...... Nearly. Possibly.”

Taako grinned at that and gestured broadly. “Oh well,  _ natch. _ Speaking of makeup, what the fuck are you talking about with  _ silver and bronze _ for tonight?” He leaned forward, more than a bit curious, “Did the nerd buy you something pretty?” He held out a hand, gesturing in the universal sign for  _ gimme. _ “Show off already.”

Lup reached down into her bag, pulling out the box she hadn’t quite wanted to destroy yet to get at the necklace inside. Scooting it across the table, her ears went slightly pink.    
  
“He’s a fucking  _ dork _ that’s all. And I  _ know _ it won’t go, and it’s too casual, but-“ she shrugged, a smile tucked into the corners of her mouth.

Taako looked it over, examining every bit of it and the way it caught the light. Then he handed it back with a smirk.    
  
“So does he  _ know _ the symbolism or is he just a nerd with taste?”

Their plates came then, and Lup tried to get her face under control as she cut into her food, “Uh.... we were talking yesterday about- about cherry blossom symbolism, so I mean.... most likely he really does....” Her ears went pinker and she focused on eating.

Taako tilted his head to the side, leaning lazily on his hand. There was a little smile on his face and his voice seemed to be coming from far away, “How the fuck did we stumble into this, Lu? Like... Krav and Barold and fuckin’ everything.”

“No fuckin’ idea, but I’m holding onto it with both hands,” Lup held her hand out for the box and ran her thumb over the acorn charm again. “It’s like those days where you think ‘well  _ this _ might as well happen’ only in a good way?”   
  
She glanced up at him and grinned lopsidedly,    
“I’d say this does mean you gotta give me away too, but I actually have no clue which gods Barry follows for wedding shit. Might be jumping a broom for all I know.”

Taako leaned back and took a long sip of his mimosa, “You’ve got time to figure that shit out. Think he’s gonna ask tonight?”   


Lup snorted, shaking her head, “And miss out on a week of being dramatic? Not  _ hardly _ . Besides-“ she leaned back, grinning a pleased cat’s grin, “-I promised to show up in a suit and he doesn’t know which night that IS yet.”

Taako snorted. “You better not be expecting it that night. Because if he can put that many words together in the right order, then ch’boy hasn’t done his job right.”

“ _ Natch _ , so I’m not looking till Thursday earliest,” she finished the rest of her mimosa and picked at the latter half of her food. It was Fine but definitely not worth the enormous upcharge, “Any plans from Krav to take you out on the town?”

A self satisfied smile crossed Taako’s face and he gestured broadly, flicking his fingers.   
“We’re going to catch some theatre and he wants to go dancing. So you can just bet I’m gonna dress to the nines and let him show me off.”

Grinning, Lup threw a loose blueberry at him, “Let me know which nights, I’ll tell the kids to entertain themselves.”    
  
The waiter came by with refills for them both and Lup sipped her new one... much less alcohol in this one, must be how they managed ‘unlimited’. Keeping her voice casual, she focused in her glass, swirling the orange juice, “And you ARE still cool with hanging’ with ‘em tonight?”

Taako took a long sip of his third drink and rolled his eyes, "Yeah, whatever. Krav has some idea to keep them out of my fuckin' hair. A museum, I think? Whatever. I'm gonna take selfies with the art."

"MmmmHm....." Gods, she was no good at subtle, and Taako would see right through it if she tried anymore dancing. "You ever feel like actually acting like you like 'em for once?"

"I'm sorry but did  _ you, _ my actual sister, just ask  _ me _ to... to demonstrate real actual emotions  _ in public? _ Do you even know me?" Taako took another sip and then set the drink down, fiddling with his fork in his other hand. "Why? Djangus knows I like him plenty. Even if he is a little know-it-all."

Lup raised her eyebrows, " _ Just _ Angus then? I'm not asking you to display affection, gods forbid, just act less like you hate being around, y'know, my  _ kids _ ."   
  
She put an added emphasis on the plural.

Taako’s eyes narrowed just slightly, his grip on the fork tightening. “Just because I call Eddie Jr out on his bullshit doesn’t mean I don’t tolerate his existence.”

Lup’s ears snapped back against her head and her eyes narrowed. Carefully, she set her glass down and laced her fingers in her lap where she could keep them from overheating. 

“Dearest brother of mine; cómo se dice the  _ fuck? _ ”

"Don't play like you haven't noticed, Lu." Taako had both hands on his fork, just barely not bending it. "Only difference between him and the finished product is that he doesn't know how to hide what he's thinking."

It was not the first time by a long shot Lup had the wish to strangle her brother and it was unlikely to be the last. The confused, protective rage for someone else was fairly new though, the calmer, inner voice reflected.    
  
“He’s  _ unlearning _ shit, bro, and he’s a  _ kid _ . Same as Angus, and don’t give me that ‘of age’ crap.”

Taako didn’t understand what was happening right now. Was Lup actually going to fight him on this? His sister, the one person he had always been able to rely on forever, for their entire lives, was seriously going to fight him over some stupid kid who was more than old enough to know better than to say the bullshit he was spewing.   
  
“Unlearning? Yeah, sure, whatever. Keep telling yourself that. Because that deffo makes it better when like he fuckin’ makes Ango cry. Sure.”

Lup’s ears fluttered uncertainly, dipping low, “.....when he  _ what _ now?”    
  
That was.... new information. Usually Angus’s responses to Keats’ backslides was quiet avoidance or angry outbursts. She’d never seen him  _ cry _ over them. “....when was this?”

"Like two weeks ago. Little man came for his lesson like usual and then just ended up sobbing in my kitchen over a plate of macarons." Taako gestured vaguely, like it should've been obvious. "Something about some school project and that friend of his from school? Judy? Jane?"

“June,” Lup replies absentmindedly, ears pinning back again. Right. They had walked in on voices raised in the kitchen, with June and Angus pointing at their books on Vietnam and Keats’ ears pinned in rage yelling about communism.    
  
That had not been a good day.    
  
“That.... yeah. He cried?” All Angus had said the day after was that he and June were going to finish it at her house.

"Angry cried. Like, ugly angry crying. Kid was a mess." Taako frowned and set his fork down. "What? You didn't know?"

“I mean, I knew about the  _ fight _ ....” Lup sat back, running her hands up her ears into her hair. “He usually goes to Barry with that stuff though, I- yeah, no. I didn’t.” Her lips quirked slightly, “we didn’t realize we should have explained government propaganda more thoroughly to Keats, also what colonialism looks like.....” sighing, she picked up her drink and took a gulp.    
  
“Well  _ fuck _ .”

"See my point? He's a fuckin' timebomb waiting for a time and a place to go off, just like his brother, just like his sister."   
  
Taako had been watching Keats for a while, since before the latest fight. Since he'd first witnessed one of Keats' outbursts and then watched the way the boy pulled in on himself and... and sulked. That was really the only word for it. Every time someone called him out on his shit, he  _ sulked. _ And Taako was... well, worried was going a little far, but he was waiting for the day that everyone else realized what he'd already realized and he was just hoping it came  _ before _ someone got hurt. Like say, that Savannah girl who followed Keats around like the Barold to his Edward.

Lup’s face went still, and she inhaled slowly.    
  
“No.”    
  
Her voice was firm and quiet, nothing of anger or defensiveness leaking out. “No, Taako. He is not.” She met his gaze squarely, “and you don’t have to like him, I’d never ask that from you if you’ve made your mind up. And if you can’t trust me on this, there’s nothing to be said on that score. But you never say that to me again.”

Taako pulled back, suddenly uncomfortable.  _ Clearly, _ one of them had missed something somewhere."Lup, Lulu, I'm just- He's-" For once, Taako's control broke and his ears pinned back. "How do you know I'm wrong? How do you know you're not making a mistake?"

“Well for one, I  _ live _ with him every day, so give me some credit for  _ pattern recognition _ ,” Lup did her best to make it sound like a joke instead of snapping the words.    
  
“Edward was every abusive, gaslighting asshole we’ve ever met or dated, bro; Keats is a confused teenager who really hates when his brother comes out of his mouth.”    
Sighing, she leaned forward to link their fingers together, “-and even if you were right, and he wasn’t acting on getting his shit together and being better than that, yknow, like going to therapy and apologizing when he fucks up-“ she shot Taako a sharp look, “- I’d  _ still _ be fighting to turn him around because he doesn’t have a couple centuries ahead of him, he is functionally  _ immortal _ , Taako. I’m doing my best not to unleash an immortal asshole on the world, fuck’s sake.”

Taako sighed quietly and leaned towards her. “Yeah... yeah. Maybe you’re right, but that doesn’t mean I have to like it and that doesn’t mean ch’boy is gonna trust like that.”   
But then he was quiet, his thoughts distant as he ran through his own memories. With a frustrated sigh, he closed his eyes against the images he had called up. No, he could understand what Lup was saying all too well.   
  
“Alright, Lu, how do I help? And  _ no one _ ever finds out I said that. You got me? No one.”

Lup held up her other hand, pinkie forward, “Never ever, [Twin promise,]” She shrugged, “honestly, the fact you like  _ Barry _ still amazes me, bro. Just... maybe tone down on teasing Angus in front of him at least.  _ You _ know his sister was the cattiest mean girl sort of bitch, he’s not looking for affection under it.”

"We're not twenty any more, Lup." Still, even though he rolled his eyes, he completed his half of the sacred twin promise. Then he leaned back and reached for his mimosa.   
"The nerd makes you happy and he's  _ basically _ the human version of a teddy bear. He's psychologically incapable of being more than a mild asshole." Then Taako set his drink down, looking startled. "Wait... wait wait wait. Back the bus right up. Does the kid think I don't like  _ Angus? _ Is that what you're telling me right now?"

“Yeah that’s true....” Lup smiled briefly into the middle distance before snapping back to the conversation. “No, he figured  _ that _ out-  _ listen _ ....” she hesitated, “You remember Berkeley? That one gender studies group where I ended up punching the ring leader? So his sister was basically  _ those _ all wrapped into one, and far as I can tell, he keeps waiting for you to drop the other shoe and turn on Angus.”

Taako made a face. “Yeah, I remember that fuckin’ bitch. He seriously thinks I’m like  _ that? _ Fuck.” He drained the rest of his drink in one go, a distant look on his face, “Lup, I can’t fix that just by being nice. That’s just gonna make it worse.”

Lup gave him a heavily ironic look and finished off her mimosa, “When did I say ‘nice’? I never said ‘nice’, you scare  _ me _ when you act nice. Just slightly  _ less _ yourself maybe....use his  _ name _ once in a while, maybe show him how to make a meringue that doesn’t suck....”

Taako laughed at that. "Yeah, I can do that." Then he drummed his fingers on the table, thinking something through. "He's like... French, right? And he's been teaching himself French shit? How's he handle spice? Because ch'boy  _ could _ teach him to make some of the shit out of Tia's cookbook." His voice softened just slightly. "I've still got it. Scanned that bad boy into the computer and made sure we'll have it forever. Can't remember if I sent you a copy or not. Remind me when we get home."

Lup’s ears dropped to her shoulders, flaring out, “You did  _ not _ send me one, Munch, I’m holding you to that-“ shaking herself out of the sudden bout of nostalgia, she grinned, “he’ll eat literally anything you put in front of him. I tried some of the higher spice levels of ramen last night and he didn’t even flinch. I’m tempted to start adding Carolina Reapers to stuff next.”

"Holy shit. Seriously?" The contemplative look on Taako's face turned excited. "Yeah, I'll teach th-  _ Keats _ some stuff. Barold sure as hell isn't going to appreciate these recipes. We need to talk about your man,  _ by the way. _ Because he told me that  _ green bell peppers _ are too spicy, Lup.  _ Green bell peppers! _ They're sweet peppers! They are ZERO scovilles of heat. I fuckin' looked it up! Will you  _ please _ fix this? He cannot  _ legally _ be part of this family if he can't eat a  _ bell pepper, _ Lulu."

She threw her hands up,    
“I’m  _ trying! _ I’ve gone with curries so he can cut them with rice  _ and _ bread and he tries it and just looks  _ pathetic _ . I can’t keep causing him pain, Munch, he’s got too good a sad puppy face.”

"Did you try like...  _ fuck, _ I don't know... paprika?" Taako snorted a laugh. "Come on, let's blow this popsicle stand. I saw a cute skirt in the window a block back that's begging to go home in my suitcase."

* * *

The cute skirt was acquired, along with a pair of heels, and a spaghetti strap tank top that Lup winced over the price but liked how it fit her figure and bought anyway.   
  
Five stores, two bags a hand each (two Lup’s, six Taako’s), Lup was pleased with her choice of footwear, and starting to feel the pinch of hunger.   
Crowding into the elevator, her ear twitched as she heard a “Mom!” And Angus squeezed in next to them, his hair wet from the pool.   
  
“I can watch Uncle Taako do your makeup, right?”

Taako grinned at Angus, pulling his bags as close to himself as he could as he tried to keep them from getting wet. Keats had followed Angus into the elevator and he was studying the door. Taako frowned just slightly at that but focused on Angus for now. He'd deal with the other problem later.   
  
"I'll do you one better, Ango. Once we get Lup all set, how about I teach you the basics of foundation and blending?"

Angus's face lit up and he nodded, then frowned, "Will we be done before we leave for the museum?"   
  
"Should be," Lup leaned against the wall, flexing her feet and watching the numbers change. "Show him some while I'm in the shower, Munch." Glancing over at Keats, her ears twitched before relaxing into a deliberately happy look, "Savannah still swimming?"

Keats looked over and shook his head, a little smile on his face. They'd been having a lot of fun earlier, even if Savannah had dunked him until they'd freaked out at least one tourist family. He'd been laughing when he came up, which had  _ apparently _ made it worse. At least, he was guessing that was why the human woman had given them a weird look and taken her two kids and left. Either that or she thought they were having sex in the pool which... no thanks, lady. Its way too public for that.   
  
"She already went up to the room. Her Grandad called." Then his ears flicked up. "It's nothing bad. Just checking up, I guess."   
  
Taako raised an eyebrow, looking at Keats curiously.   
  
"Demon Lords have cellphones?"

"Demon Lords use  _ emojis _ , " Lup pulled her bags up higher as the door chimed and thumped them lightly against Angus's head and Taako's shoulder, " _ move _ it, boyos, I need to sit for five fuckin' minutes before I shower."   
  
Angus grinned and moved out of the way, holding up a still damp hand, "I could carry-"

Keats was already jogging down the hallway, bare feet slapping on the floor as he headed towards their room. He had his towel around his shoulders almost like a cape and the water clung to his hair.    
  
"I'll get the door!"    
  
Taako shook his head, watching. Sometimes, he had a very hard time believing that Keats was actually as old as everyone kept saying he was. Then he frowned a little.   
  
"Hey Lu, when's Keats turn nineteen again? That's... soon? Just happened?"

"Uuuuuuuh, fuck, next week? Barry knows the exact date..."    
  
"The nineteenth, Mom,"  Angus had been given the bag with shoe boxes in it, which were unlikely to be hurt by his dripping hands. "He got Dad to promise he could take me camping."   
  
Lup frowned down at him, then at Keats who was holding the door open, "Y'all are going to be exhausted, but whatever."

"It's gonna be fun, and Savannah's still gonna be home from school, so she's coming too. That way, we can bring Valin without trouble, because there'll be three of us to watch him."   
  
Keats closed the door as he followed them in and started trying to towel himself dry again. He had, it seemed, the same problem as Barry: the water just wanted to stay stuck to him. And this wasn't even hot shower water.    
  
Taako set his bags aside and went to grab his make up kit.    
  
"Okay, student, it's lesson time. Step one, how to pick a foundation that actually works with your skin because let me fuckin' tell you a thing or two, not all brands are made equal."

Lup left Taako explaining about needing a consistent base to work with, dumped her bags in the room, and used the  _ sinfully _ huge shower that came with the egregiously large suite.    
  
It was too bad Kravitz had already taken Barry off to distract and also make him do something beyond comb his hair, she felt that the shower ought to be investigated more.    
  
Once she’d finished and thrown on yoga pants and a tank top, she walked out to find Angus looking at himself in the mirror, lightly powdering his face with Taako’s second best makeup brush.    
  
Throwing herself down in the chair next to him, she grinned,    
“You didn’t even need Capn’port’s spells to change your face, lil man.”

Keats was leaning in next to Angus, still in his trunks, "Don't forget to make sure you wash your face first, otherwise it just comes right off because of the oils. And oils mean you've got shine and they'll spot you for sure."   
  
Taako stopped in the middle of setting down a few other things he was going to need, including a few palettes and options for lipstick. He was looking at Keats oddly, really listening to what the boy was saying. Keats seemed to notice the scrutiny and his ears flicked back. He didn't seem entirely to realize what he'd said at the end when he replied.   
  
"I mean, I figure this stuff has to be like camo paint, right?"   
  
Taako hesitated for only a moment before nodding and finishing what he was doing.

"Basically, Keats, but to draw attention instead of hiding. Which is  _ way _ more fun."

Angus paused in his blending, glancing first at Taako with raised eyebrows, then at Lup, who lifted a single finger to her lips and tapped it twice. Angus smirked slightly and went back to blending.    
  
Leaning forward, Lup looked over the lipstick, which ranged from ‘bright and eye catching’ to ‘no makeup, makeup’,

“But so many times you hafta walk that line so that people don’t think you’re wearing any,” her voice went into a high falsetto, “If the men know we can shape shift  _ they’re going to tell the CHURCH! _ ”

Taako started laughing so hard he snorted as he grabbed for his own specially transmuted foundation, 100% guaranteed to match their skin tone perfectly, “Natch. Now sit down and let me work my magic, Lu. Ch’boy has a  _ plan.” _   
  
Then he glanced over at Angus to see how he was doing. He had the idea, the rest would just be practice. And Keats was looking around, somewhere between curious and left out. Taako took a breath.   
  
“Keats, does that girlfriend of yours wear makeup?”   
  
Keats blinked a little, startled to be addressed again, “No? Um... maybe? I... Sometimes? I don’t- I have no idea.”

“She has on eyeshadow when she goes to parties, but not any other times,” Angus piped up, setting his brush down and looking at Lup as she settled next to Taako. “And she doesn’t do the contour thing, but sometimes she has lipstick on.”

Keats looked absolutely baffled, ears flicked up in confusion. "She does? How come I never noticed?"   
  
Taako worked quickly and carefully, eyes narrowed slightly with focus. He had decades of experience with doing someone else's makeup, especially Lup's. It was practically second nature for him to have a conversation while he worked. "Because she doesn't want you to know. Ever seen the shit on the internet about how to find out if your date is wearing makeup? Straight men are absolute bullshit sometimes." He paused for a moment, looking at Lup. "So I'm thinking retro simplistic. Blow your man's mind. Thoughts?"

Angus wrinkled his nose, “her eyeshadow  _ glitters _ , she’s not a  _ vampire _ .....”   
  
Lup’s ear twitched in his direction, amused, but otherwise stayed still as Taako worked.    
  
“Sounds perf. I know you’re gonna match the lipstick to my accents, but caaaaaan I get, uuuuuh, deeper red on the lower lip, please and thank you~”

“Can do.”   
  
While Taako got to work, Keats sat on the floor and watched. His ears were flicked back and he was deep in thought, “Okay... but why?”   
  
“Why doesn’t she want you to know? Society, my dude.”   
  
Keats blinked at that and then looked up again, looking between Lup and Taako.   
  
“No, I mean... what’s it for? What’s the point? She’s really pretty, so why bother?” Then he blushed brightly. “I mean... Mom... um... so are... I mean... you’re... uh...”   
  
Taako snorted a laugh as Keats scrambled, the blush only getting worse.

Lup laughed, only leaning back into Taako’s steady hand when she could talk properly,

“Glamour, michen. Accentuate the traits you want, downplay the ones you don’t like.”    


Taako grumbled and tilted her chin for a better angle. Lup closed her eyes and tried not to sigh TOO obviously. The familiarity of it soothed something in her she hadn’t realized she was missing. They’d done this for years, passing back brushes and pallets and practicing on each other. Making runs to drug stores and buying cheap lipsticks and eyeliner (and stuffing more expensive powders and mascaras in their pockets). Taako would study the expensive ones until he could mimic and improve on them, and became well known for always having the best stuff on the drag circuit, back when his dress commissions were making better money than Lup’s part time job as a file clerk.    


Angus studied her face and the relaxed droop of her ears as Taako worked, “Why would you want to do that all the time? It’s a lot of work.”

"Because it's better than armor, bubbeleh. You know how to wing your eyeliner and get it even and the gods themselves quake before you." Taako said it entirely seriously. Then he grinned. "That, and it feels good to look good."   
  
Keats tilted his head to the side, one ear flicked up and one down as he watched and listened. Then he got up and went to the minibar to grab a soda before returning to sitting on his towel. "I guess..." He could remember watching his brother and sister getting ready in the morning. It always seemed like it took so long and it never made sense to him. He just washed his face and called it good. At the same time, though, he spent hours exercising and maybe that was the same thing, or at least similar? He wasn't sure. "Is it hard?"

“Not really, just takes practice and steady hands,” Lup tilted her head again as Taako started on her eyelids. “Mind you, some people  _ still _ use spells to get their eyeliner even, because some things you can’t leave to chance.”    
  
Angus swung his legs against his chair, glancing into the small mirror Taako had given him. He liked the smooth planes and sharp lines the contouring gave his face, even if Taako had clucked over his blending, “Can I try the eyeliner?”

“Not this time, Djangus, gotta be careful with that shit since it’s near eyes and stuff. If you wanna try the lipstick though, go for one of the brights. It’s a good contrast.”   
  
Keats was quiet again, trying to work through what he was thinking and feeling. There was a lot to unpack, he was realizing. He remembered some of the other guys in his unit laughing and making jokes when they were learning to use camo paint and he could remember Edward and Lydia having serious discussions just like this about foundation and blush and blending and things like that. And he just didn’t understand what was right and what was wrong and why people said the things they did. When he spoke again, his voice was uncertain and he spoke slowly. “So why do  _ you _ wear it? You’re a guy.”   
  
Taako stopped entirely, just staring at Keats. He knew the retort he wanted to snap, but he was trying to keep in mind what Lup had said over brunch. Even if it galled him.

Lup cracked an eye open and glanced at him, before twitching an ear in Keats’ direction, “Every dude you’ve ever seen dressed up on tv is wearing makeup and don’t let them fool you.”

"Yeah, but that's so they're not shiny, right? Under the lights? It's the same thing for theatre... That's different than like... eyeliner and stuff, right?" Keats wasn't looking at Taako now. He was staring at the floor, almost waiting for the snap. Taako's frown deepened as he took a long moment to study Keats' demeanor. The boy's ears were both flicked back in discomfort and he had pulled down into himself completely. With an internal sigh of frustration, Taako realized that Lup was right.    
  
"Because I want to. Because I don't let anyone stop me from living my best life. I'm not about that."

“Gendering stuff is weird and arbitrary and stupid anyway, stupid human idea,” Lup glanced at herself in Angus’s mirror, ears flicking up in a pleased way.    
  
“Europe brought over strict gender roles after World War One and the president of Johnson and Johnson is an elf, I  _ checked _ ,” Angus held up his phone triumphantly and Lup laughed, “Call me on my  _ shit _ , lil man!”

Keats sighed, flopping back across the carpeted floor dramatically with his arms thrown wide. "Why is  _ everything _ I ever learned wrong? This is dumb."   
  
Taako finished up the last little touches on Lup's makeup and then handed her another mirror. "Take a look at that and tell me what you think." Then he turned to Keats again, looking down at him on the floor. "Because the fifties were a hellscape, my guy. Now come here, and I'll show you some basics. Don't knock it till you've tried it, right?"

Lup turned the mirror at several angles, grinning, “You’re an  _ artist _ , babe.” Getting up, she ruffled Angus’s hair as he carefully applied a bright pink lippie, “But Taako, this dress better get a face out of Barry that makes shaving my legs worth it, I’m serious!”

“You’re gonna blow his fuckin’ mind, Lup. Don’t worry about that,” Taako gestured for Keats to take the empty seat, “Now go finish getting ready. I’ve got the monsters under control. Krav should be done with Barold by  _ now.” _

Lup flapped a hand at him and shut herself in the bedroom.    



	9. A First Date

The dress at least was a simple one, just needing the shoes and wrap to complete the Look ™, and Lup’s hand hovered over her collection of charmed earrings for a long moment before only putting three hoops in one ear, and a cuff on the other.    
  
Simplicity was the game on  _ this _ one.    
  
Giving herself one last glance in the mirror, Lup looked over at the box Barry had given her, tapping a fingernail against her teeth.    
Her jewelry was a red gold to show against the burgundy of her wrap and shoes so...    
  
Coming to a decision, she grabbed her chalk out of her charm bag and sketched a quick circle. Opening the necklace box, she gently pulled the acorn charm off its chain and placed it in her circle. Threading her magic through it, the silver clasp around the amber rippled before changing to gold. Grinning, Lup attached it to the chain dangling from her ear cuff. There.    
  
Opening the door she heard Savannah’s bright laughter in the common room followed by Keats’ voice. Ears up and chin high, she sashayed out.   
  
“Heads up and prepare to be  _ amazed _ , kiddos!”

 

Keats was still sitting in the chair while Taako and Savannah argued about which lipstick looked best with his complexion and he tried to say it didn't matter because he was going to be washing his face before they actually left the hotel anyway. But when Lup entered the room, they went silent and Keats turned to lean over the back of the chair.   
  
"Mom, you look amazing."   
  
Savannah leaned over him and gave Lup a thumbs up. "You're gonna knock him dead, Ma'am! Or..." Then she stopped, blinking a few times. "Double... dead?"   
  
Keats choked back a laugh and put an arm around her waist. "You tried."

 

Angus grinned and also gave her a thumbs up, his lips were still a bright almost Barbie shade of pink, “He’s not gonna be able to talk, Mom.”   
  
“ _ Excellent _ ,” Lup sank down into one of the overstuffed chairs, tilting her feet so she wasn’t resting on her heels, “ _ Exactly _ the effect I was going for.”    
  
She examined Keats’ face with a critical eye, noting that Taako had used a darker tone on his cheeks rather than a lighter one. With the way his hair had grown out into lighter brown curls, he could  _ almost _ be somewhere between her and Barry. She glanced at Taako and raised an eyebrow, “Looks good, michen, no one would even KNOW if you left the hotel like that.”

 

Keats smiled uncertainly and then looked between them all. "Really? I could? And no one would realize?"   
  
Savannah laughed at the look on his face but Taako rolled his eyes. "You better not undo my work, my dude. And I hope you took notes because this was a special occasion."   
  
Taako had started to say something else when there was a knock at the door to the hall. Taako grinned slowly and went to go answer the door, very purposefully positioning himself so Lup couldn't be seen just yet. 

 

Barry stood in the hall, his hair somehow tamed for once and a single red rose in his hand. He was wearing one of his old suits, dark grey slacks and jacket with a white shirt, but Kravitz had found him a crimson tie and gold cufflinks that perfectly complemented the accents in Lup's outfit. Kravitz had also helped him with some magical modifications to the outfit, tailoring it far beyond what mere stitching could do fifty years ago. Barry had never felt comfortable dressing up, always felt like a child caught in his father's clothes, but for once, he was comfortable in his own skin and he hoped he could measure up beside her.

 

Lup stood up, not too quickly, so he wouldn’t see her first while she was sitting. Ears flicked up to show off her jewelry and carefully arranging her wrap, she grinned past Taako, “Hey babe, ready to head out?”

 

Taako stepped out of the way once he was sure Lup was ready, giving Barry a subtle thumbs up and slightly less subtle grin.    
  
"Have fun, me and Krav have the kids, don't get arrested." Then he gestured almost impatiently for them to get going while Barry just stood there, his eyes on Lup.    
  
For a long moment, Barry just stood there with his mouth a little open like he was just about to speak, like the words were waiting for the tiniest push to stumble out of his mouth. Then that turned to a shy smile and the only word he could manage was a soft;  _ "Wow." _

 

Lup’s grin went softer, putting a hand up to tug an earring self-consciously, “You clean up pretty good too, Bluejeans. C’mon, there’s too much  _ audience _ here.”    
Blowing a kiss at Taako, she slipped her phone into the dress’s pocket, and reached out to pluck the rose out of Barry’s hand and twine her hand into his. Her heels put her almost a head taller, and the impulse to kiss his forehead was briefly overwhelming.    
  
“Go away so we can go to the  _ museum _ already!” Angus’s voice came from behind her.

 

Barry chuckled quietly at that, silently grateful to Angus for breaking the... well, tension wasn't entirely the right word. He wasn't sure what was. It was like he was shy and nervous with Lup again in a way he hadn't been since that first hug in his childhood bedroom when he was still mostly incorporeal, since the kiss on the floor in the kitchen and the first night at her old apartment. A bit of a blush colored his cheeks and he squeezed her hand gently, "Let's go, Lup. Don't wanna... uh... don't wanna be late for the reservations."

 

Lup shut the door firmly behind her, still not letting go of Barry’s hand, “Hell yeah, steal me away, babe.”    
  
Their Lyft was already waiting when they walked out of the lobby, and Lup had a fun time remembering how to angle herself into a car in six inch heels. An accidental  _ ”Scheisse!” _ had the driver thinking they were foreign tourists and he asked them what they thought of America on the way over.    
  
Lup did not correct him and Barry got a good laugh out of pretending to act as Lup’s translator through the ride. According to the map, it shouldn’t have been very far but traffic was a thing, especially in the capital, and the joke went on a bit longer than Barry had expected. Still, he was struggling not to laugh by the time they were let out in front of the restaurant. It was an older place, perched on a corner. It was comfortable and welcoming, even with the people standing around dressed in their best.    
  
He spoke to the hostess and soon they were seat in a quiet corner with a bottle of wine chilling beside the table. And Barry’s nerves were buzzing. It was absolutely irrational, suddenly being nervous after living with her for two years. Fuck, they had a house, they had kids. But this was their first  _ date _ and he was nervous.

 

Lup ran a finger down the menu, trying to push back her own sense of being  _ shy _ .    
  
Where the fuck had she ever been shy about anything with anyone and especially not-    
  
The sense of nerves coming off Barry caught her a bit off guard if only because they were a different flavor than his usual anxiety. Tugging their bond, she sent her own nerves followed by amusement, before peering over the menu at him,    
  
“You know... we really were planning on doing dinner and a movie dating before the universe intervened. I  _ distinctly _ remember you inviting me to a movie.”

 

Barry laughed softly, setting his menu down. He leaned forward, a smile on his face.   
  
"Yeah, I remember. Well... mostly. I uh... I'll admit, that day is still a little... There's some gaps. But I remember. I could barely believe you'd said yes." Reaching for his wine glass more before he needed something to do with his hands than needed a drink, he went on. "We should do that sometime though. Dinner and a movie and maybe sneak off to the overlook~"   
  
It really was hard for him to believe at times, even now. Even when they were going through their normal day, getting the kids off to school and running errands and taking care of things at home. Sometimes, he would just stop and watch her, hardly believing that all of this was real and this really was his life. It felt like a dream.

 

Grinning, Lup laid her menu down and picked up her glass,    
  
“Cheers to that, we’re taking your car, though. Mine has limited, uh,  _ space _ .”    
  
There was a lot of fun in the image, messing around like teenagers. And the fact they could go home after and Barry would still  _ be _ there in her bed when she woke up again made it even better.    
  
“Right, so we skipped the dating, what the heck do the cool kids SAY on dates now.....”    
  
She got out her phone and called up an article, smirking, and pushed her phone towards him as the waiter came back.

 

After their orders were placed, Barry skimmed through the article. His gaze flicked up to meet hers and he raised an eyebrow before setting her phone back down and leaning forward.   
  
"So," he glanced down at the phone again, the article still open, and spoke very pointedly, overexaggerating his words. "where  _ are _ you originally from?"

 

“Southern Arizona,” Lup sipped her glass, eyes twinkling, “wasn’t a state yet, we were long gone before that happened. We didn’t really have a House so much as, like..... this little town ish place? Right on the river, buncha little farms and a trading post. Our aunt had goats and was the best cook for fifty miles around.”    
  


"Explains why you know so much about the uh... the goats. I'd been wondering if you had a secret farming past you just weren't telling me about," he teased.    
  


Lup flipped him off affectionately. Putting her glass down, she tucked her chin in her hand and grinned at Barry,    
“Now  _ you _ , local boy. Where was your  _ mom _ from?”

  
Taking a sip of his wine, he closed his eyes for a moment. He could picture it perfectly, the place on the map Marlena Bluejeans had shown him so long ago when he'd been a curious child, the photographs she'd had of the town with its stone churches and rolling hills.    
  
"Langenberg. It's in the Rhineland. Sort of uh... sort of near Düsseldorf. It's not very big. Or at least, it wasn't then? I don't know about now. I haven't really looked." He paused then, going a little quiet. "You know, it's weird. She hardly ever talked about it. No... that's not right. She'd talk about the town, about living there, about how excited she was coming here and uh... and Ellis Island and all that jazz. But she never talked about like... my grandparents?"   
  
He shook his head a little. "Never mind. Sorry, for uh... sorry. Um... hmmmm Alright, I  _ know _ you said you've got more than one doctorate. What  _ in?" _

 

“One in transmutation from the Humboldt-Universität,” Lup ticked off on her fingers. Her ears pinned back slightly, “-though I doubt they have the documentation for it anymore..... anyway, one in evocation,  _ natch _ . That one was in Toronto, and it was a surprisingly small program considering Canada is a giant popsicle half the year.”    
  
She grinned and sipped her wine before holding up her third finger, “- and one in runic sigils from Berkeley. That one was just because I could and it got us a housing allowance while Taako went to culinary school.”    
  
She glanced out the window next to them, as the sunset threw out its last rays over the buildings next to them, mind flicking back through the decades. It wasn’t a comfortable feeling knowing that two of those degrees were acquired while Barry drifted alone and stagnant in his house.    
  
Shaking that thought away, she pulled her phone back and scrolled through,    
“Are we in phase two or three? I’m gonna ask a phase three question; cat or dog person?”    
  
She smirked, setting her phone back down.

 

“I dunno, I stopped going off the cheat sheet.” He hid a smile with another sip of his wine. “I can’t decide if I’m surprised they’re all in uh... in magic stuff or not surprised at all.”   
  
He reached for her phone, skimming through the article while he thought.    
  
“Cat person. I always liked how they’re sort of... you know, they’re arrogant little things. It’s like they never forgot that they got worshipped in Egypt and they’re gonna just let everyone know it. I always liked that. And the purring, but uh...”  A bright blush crossed his cheeks. “Saying that out loud sounds... uhhhh weird... now.”

 

Lup snorted and inhaled wrong, covering her mouth as she coughed and laughed until her airways were clear.   
  
Naturally, this was the moment the waiter, a tall and dignified half elven woman, came by with their food. She placed their plates with aplomb and handed Lup a cloth napkin she made appear out of nowhere.    
  
Lup squeaked thanks and tried to get ahold of herself by the time she left.

 

Once the waitress was gone, Barry leaned forward, still a blush on his cheeks but smiling. "My turn still though, right? Uh..."   
  
He skimmed through the article once more and then paused, looking at one line before setting her phone back down and pushing it towards her.    
  
"Any siblings? Besides Taako, I mean. Is there a secret younger sibling who's gonna just uh... just mysteriously show up on our doorstep someday?"

 

“At that point it’s three kids and a pattern, right?” Lup snorted and cut into her food, which she could tell already was  _ much _ better than the brunch place from that morning.    
Taking a moment to close her eyes and enjoy it, she thought back to that long ago village, memories made hazy by over a century’s worth of life.    
  
“Younger would be a feat and a half, our parents died when we were.... fuck I dunno.... younger than the ‘oh hey these might make it to adulthood’ age.”    
She took a sip and shrugged at his expression, “Not in a  _ callous _ way, just in a- a ‘infant mortality is super high’ way. We were given to our Tía and she raised us for a while. Dunno about older sibs either.”    
  
She scrolled and grinned, “Oh hey,  _ ’what do you want to do next?’ _ How many PHD’s do  _ you _ want, babe?”

 

"Oh, that's... oh..." Barry was glad Lup had just moved on from one question to the next without lingering. Not that the past ever seemed to bother her. She was amazing like that. He had commented on it more than once as he ran gentle fingers over the ink that covered her scars, each place where she had taken the harm someone had inflicted on her and turned it into something beautiful.    
  
Turning his mind to her question, he chuckled quietly. "I dunno, babe. I don't know if I've got another thesis in me any time soon but uh... but in the long term? I'd love to learn that uh... that computer stuff. Programming? I hear it's moved past punch cards and I'd love to see what I can make it do."

 

Her ears flicked up with a jingle of earrings,    
  
“ _ Hell _ yeah, you can learn all that online too... man, we should just build you a desktop already....” she tapped her fork against her mouth looking off into the middle distance.    
  
It occurred to her that the wine bottle was almost empty and neither of them was more than half way through their plates. She made a firm decision not to walk  _ anywhere _ with her heels on for a good half hour.    
  
“My turn, right? Hmm....what.... what do you  _ miss _ from the sixties?”

 

Barry laughed. "It's not your turn, but alright."   
  
For a long moment, he stared into his glass, swirling the liquid around while he thought. Then he took a sip and set it back down.   
  
"This is gonna sound weird but uh... but the sense of adventure? I mean... not that I'm not having adventures because  _ let me tell you. _ But like... the feeling like everyone was just riding this same high. Sure, there was all that Cold War shit but... space was out there and... and we were gonna climb it, just because it was there. And every day I went to work thinking that maybe today would be the day we figured out that last little piece so we could put a man on the moon and then... and then Mars and then just keep going until we could send anyone into space." He had a sad little smile on his face for a moment. Then he took another long sip and gave her a wry grin. "Now billionaire couch boy can barely launch a fucking toaster, let alone put a colony on Mars."   
  
The steak he'd ordered was absolutely delicious, tender as you could please and cut like butter. He mumbled something about being absolutely spoiled as he took another bite. Then he grinned. "Now I get to ask two since  _ someone _ skipped my turn. Any decade you've seen, which one would you go back to? And two, you get one do-over. What do you change?"

 

Lup stuck her tongue out at him, ears flared happily, “ _ Fine _ If someone is  _ really _ keeping score....”   
  
She fiddled with the charm hanging from her ear, pleased that it seemed acquiescent to having magic pulled through it.    
  
“Berlin, 1920s, I guess.... it was....” she sighed, ears drooping a little in nostalgia, “...I guess that same sense of adventure going on? More manic than the sixties for sure, fuckin’ inflation and all, but....” she shrugged. “People were  _ exploring _ shit, just- art everywhere, and new sciences being thought up, and the clubs were.... it was a good time.”    
  
She snorted and sipped her water, “-like an all night bender, maybe. You wake up and suddenly everything hurts and chaos reigns.”    
  
Pursing her lips, Lup set her glass down and tapped it.    
  
“....I don’t think I do anything different.... everything I did brought me  _ here _ ,” she flashed him a smile. “-and  _ here _ is pretty fucking good.”    
  
She took another bite of her coq au vin and smirked, “-Taako’s hair in the nineties.  _ DEFFO _ cut that off.”

 

"Wait, wait," Barry raised a hand. "Are you telling me that nineties Taako hair was worse than eighties Taako hair? Because I've seen photographic evidence of the eighties and  _ wow. _ That was a... a bold life choice."   
  
“So there’s this dude named Justin Timberlake- no, never mind, I’ll find a picture later.”    
  


He smiled, head tilted just slightly as he watched her. He loved the way she was always so expressive, the way she put so much into a conversation. She really did light up a room just by being there and being herself.    
  
"It sounds amazing though. The twenties... That's when my parents met. But, you know, state side. There's pictures in the attic and I  _ think _ I found a box of old clothes from then." He sighed a little. "We really should actually go through the attic one of these days."   
  
He said it. He knew they wouldn't. They never seemed to, not until they needed something and then it would be right there where his mother had packed it away for someday.   
  
"Your turn."

  
Lup finished her glass of wine, and set her chin in her hand again, unabashedly looking Barry over.    
  
“Are you proposing tonight? Because I gotta say, there’s no way I’d say no while you’re in that suit.”

 

The tings of pink in his cheeks brightened and spread, but the smile on his face was wonderfully confident. “Not tonight. Can’t do it the first night, Lup. Otherwise, there goes the uh... the whole element of surprise, you know? All the suspense.”   
  
He reached for her had across the table, running his thumb over her knuckles lightly. He gave her hand a gentle squeeze.    
  
“How do you feel about dessert? I saw a cake on here we could split.”

 

Barry’s hand was barely lukewarm as always, but his gentle touch made her flush delightfully from fingers to eartips. Lup tried to smirk but it came out looking shy all over again,    
  
“Sounds wonderful, Bear.....but, uuuuuuh, hey, surprise me, I gotta run  _ very carefully _ to the bathroom.”    
  
Reluctantly pulling her hand out of his, she stood, trying to find that old muscle memory for how this went.    
Somewhat to her surprise, she was successful, and navigated safely to the back of the restaurant.

 

For a long moment, he just watched her go. Then he reached for the dessert menu, skimming through it quickly. He was certain he'd seen something on there they would both like.   
  
By the time Lup had returned, the waitress had come and gone and the order was in the kitchen. All there was to do now was wait to see what he'd ordered.

 

Lup’s ears were easing back in annoyance when she returned, though she firmly moved them to a semi neutral position as she sat down, “I love you, and these shoes make my entire lower half look  _ amazing _ but I might burn them when we get home.”    
  
With no menu and her wine glass empty, the only thing she could fidget with was the cloth napkin, which she wrapped around her fingers as she fought to keep her ears from telegraphing annoyed.    
  
“So we heading out for more on the town stuff or just back to the hotel?”

 

"Just toss them in the attic with everything else. It's not like we don't have room."    
  
He was watching her curiously, trying to read her mood. Then he glanced towards the back of the restaurant. He wasn't sure why Lup was suddenly annoyed. What he  _ was _ sure of (and was distantly proud of himself for recognizing) was that she wasn't annoyed with him.    
  
"I wasn't sure how uh... how much you'd want to go wander around in heels so I didn't really plan anything. We  _ could _ go spend some time in the hot tub though." His voice dropped, much quieter. "Everything okay, Lup?"

 

“Hot tub sounds  _ amazing _ , babe,” Lup’s eyes flicked to a group that was leaving, specifically the elven woman that had been sitting in the chair nearest their table. She was taking the arm of a human man who couldn’t be much older than thirty and laughing at something he’d said.   
  
Lup’s ears tilted back further, “..... just got some unasked for advice in the bathroom. S’all.”    
  
Deliberately she turned her focus back on Barry and smiled, “So! Dessert and hot tub.”

 

Barry followed her gaze and then sighed. He could guess what about and it certainly wasn't the first time someone had looked at him, a fairly average human, and made a snap judgement about either him or the elf he was with. Back in the sixties, he would have just kept his head down and ignored it. Now? It was hard to say. Then he saw her smile and brightened as well. Whatever. So what if some woman was making assumptions about them? What she thought didn't matter.   
  
"Sounds perfect." He gave her a shy little smile. "I love you. You know that, right?"

 

Lup felt her ears flush bright pink again, relaxing out of their pinned position,    
“Yeah, I know. You figured out my coffee order first try, and if that isn’t true love, I don’t know what is.”    
  
The tension had completely drained out of her by the time the waiter came back with their dessert, and Lup’s ears flicked straight up in excitement when she saw it.

 

"Babe, compared to some people I could name but won't, your coffee is  _ easy."  _ He was laughing when the waiter set the plate between them. The slice of chocolate torte and the little scoop of french vanilla ice cream tucked beside it were artfully drizzled in raspberry sauce, with a few fresh berries placed on top of it just to top it off. Then he set down a small pot of coffee and two cups with a smile.   
  
"Enjoy."

Lup picked her phone up again to snap a picture of the arrangement, sending it to Taako first and foremost,  “Shit, that’s gorgeous. Plating is something I never had the patience to learn, but  _ gods _ is it worth it when professionals do it.”  Setting that down, she picked the coffee pot up, pouring Barry’s first and blowing him a kiss before grabbing her spoon.  “Anyway, you’re perfect and that ice cream is mine, sorry, babe.”

 

"Yeah, that's fair." Still, he picked up his spoon and took just a tiny bit of the ice cream. "But I get a taste. Won't get sick from a taste, babe."   
  
The dessert really was delicious. But soon it was gone and the bill paid. Barry stood, offering Lup his arm to head back to the hotel.   
  
"I'm  _ very _ looking forward to that hot tub, babe."

  
“Deffo with you there,” Lup took his arm, wincing as she took a step.    
“Fuck, I used to be good at this. Taako can  _ never _ know how long I lasted in these.”    



	10. Hot Tubs and Hotel Sex

The drive back was quieter, the Lyft driver putting on some smooth jazz that Lup suspected was a specifically curated playlist for couples. Still, it didn’t require any brain to listen to and she got to curl against Barry’s shoulder, plucking at the wool of his suit and enjoying the texture of the older fabric that had never been blended with anything else in its life.   
  
When they got back to the hotel room, Lup kicked the offending heels off and sank down in the overstuffed chair in their bedroom to start taking off her jewelry.    
  
“Never a fuckin’ gain, I swear. Babe? First and last time you’ve seen me in six inch heels, remember this night.”

Barry chuckled quietly at that, taking off his jacket and tossing it on the back of a chair.  
  
"That's a damn shame, babe. I could uh... I could always give you a foot rub in the hot tub. Does that make up for the trials of fashion?" He had a bit of an idiot grin on his face as he started unbuttoning his shirt.

“ _ Yes _ , you are  _ absolutely _ allowed to do that,” Lup smirked at him as she laid her last earring down and stood to strip her dress off.    
  
That done, she stepped over to start unbuttoning Barry’s shirt from the bottom up, leaning in to press a light kiss to the side of his mouth. “You’re.... you’re just so good, babe....”

He let his hands fall away from the last few buttons, wrapping his arms around her instead. Returning her kiss with a gentle one of his own, he leaned against her. "It's what you deserve." His voice was quiet, his face buried against her shoulder.

Lup’s ears shot up then fell back, a roiling of emotion starting in her chest. Turning her face into Barry’s hair, she snaked her arms around him under his shirt and squeezed back.   
  


* * *

As she went to wash her hands, there was another, older elven woman checking her makeup in the mirror. She glanced at Lup, noting the small smile she hadn’t been able to lose. 

“[Make sure you’re not so besotted you don’t get a good] pre-nup, Sweetie.” 

Lup froze as she reached for the hand dryer, ears flicking back, “[Beg pardon?]”

The elven woman shrugged and touched up her lipstick, “[Love is wonderful, but death always brings out the second cousins twice removed claiming their blood and species is a harder claim than yours. Get it in writing.]” 

Lup’s ears were flicking somewhere between annoyance and amusement as she dried her hands, “[I think it’s safe to say he outlived all his....]”

“[Well done him,]” the women checked her lipstick and hair, giving Lup a friendly smile before leaving, “[The first time marrying a human always means a tendency to forget paperwork. Remember sweetheart; love is fleeting, but a bank account will last you decades.]”  


* * *

“No arguments there,” she tried to keep her voice light, ignoring the lump in her throat. Barry’s gentle conviction enough to sweep away the bitter taste in her mouth.

“C’mon babe, that tub is calling me.”   
  
It really was decadent enough to give Lup a twinge of guilt that someone might catch her out. _Hey! You aren’t wealthy enough to be here!_  Ignoring this, she played with the jet controls as it filled, the water steaming out at nearly boiling levels of heat. Leaving two of the ridiculously plush complimentary robes within reach, she slid in and held a hand out for Barry. He squeezed her hand and settled down into the water opposite her at first. With a contented sigh, he settled himself, enjoying the warmth and the feeling of the jets of water against his sore back. Then he reached out to run his hand along her leg.   
  
"Here," he gestured towards his lap, reaching for her foot. "Lemme see if I can't do something for your poor feet. Then we can both relax properly."

Lup happily put both her feet in Barry’s lap, sticking out her tongue as she wiggled her toes at him.   
  
“There are so very many ways to take that last sentence.”   
  
Despite her teasing tone, she was relaxing against her jets, muscles unwinding after two days of walking over new terrain.

He raised an eyebrow as he started rubbing her foot. "Is that so? Care to uh... to elaborate?"   
  
His touch was firm but gentle as he worked through the sore spots, mindful not to push too hard too fast and also trying very hard not to tickle her.

Lup’s head rolled back, her toes flexing further against his hands,    
  
“Uuuuuhhh.... I had a thought.... can’t do that anymore, thinking’s been thrown out the window, sorry babe.....”   
  
She sank up to her chin in the water, ears flopping low, eyes closing in relief.

Switching to the other foot, he watched her with a tender smile on his face.   
  
"You know, I bet we could get one of these for home. Could uh... could set it up in the yard. We'd just have to figure out how to keep the dog out of it."

“Forget the dog, I’m still not convinced the dog has more than two brain cells. The  _ goats _ would figure out how to shove the cover off in five seconds....”    
  
Lup watched Barry through slitted eyes. The contact, the heat, the pressure against all the points she hurt most, all of it was relaxing her to the point of lightheadedness. She was almost melting and it was  _ wonderful _ .    
  
“But by all means, anything that gets you out in the yard building things with no shirt,” she teased, prodding him with the big toe of her free foot.

"I can see it now, Starbuck lounging in the hot tub with a piña colada while Valin stares at her."    
  
He shook his head a little and then sighed. The heat of the water was soaking into him, leaving him at a normal human temperature for once. Even a shower couldn't always manage that. It was also doing wonders for his lower back and the soreness that had settled there.   
  
"Lup, I'm pretty sure you're the only wants me wandering around the yard with no shirt on."

“Keats can deal...for someone whose sibs were apparently fuckin’ Pannite heathens most of the time, he’s all hung up on nudity....” 

"I'm pretty sure it's  _ because _ they were like that actually... And you'll notice he only cares about it when it's  __ us."  
  
Lup’s eyes were more open now, Barry’s hands not doing much more than lazy circles on her ankles.    
  
“Mmmmm, might be onto something with that....” she trailed off, clearly thinking of something else. After a moment she roused herself.

“Babe? You don’t....believe it when I say you’re gorgeous do you?”    
  
Her words were slightly slurred, and Lup fought hard to make her mouth form them better. “You  _ like _ me saying so, but you don’t really believe it....”

He looked down for a second and shook his head. Of course he didn't really believe it. He knew perfectly well he was an overweight middle aged human with the fashion sense of your average nerd. Honestly, he was pretty lucky he'd died before he'd gotten much older. Even if that was weird to think about.   
  
"Babe, I've got a uh... a realistic view of myself. That's all."

“Well that’s bullshit, because you  _ are _ ,” she pulled her feet out of his hands and pushed herself lazily to slide into Barry’s lap, nuzzling under his chin. “You’ve got this fuckin’ jawline here, drives me nuts.  _ You’ve _ never seen yourself turn away into profile, takes my breath away, babe....” she kissed a line up his jaw to his ear, hands smoothing along his chest and shoulders.    
  
“These here? These are  _ stunning _ , do you know how fuckin’ hot it is to know you can throw me around, Bear? Just pick me up and put me where you want?” Lup dropped a kiss on Barry’s shoulder, a purr stuttering briefly in her throat as her hand roamed further down his chest, smoothing fingernails along the fullest part of his belly.    
  
“And- well....” she traced featherlight movements along his cock, “ _ This _ you’ve probably gotten the most compliments on....”    
  
She winked, her hands skating up again, rubbing soft circles with one thumb, while her other hand lifted to caress at Barry’s cheek.   
“I am being one  _ hundo _ percent truthful, every single time.”

A bright blush tinged Barry's cheeks and he looked away. Still, his arms automatically circled her waist.   
"Babe, I..." His blush brightened even more and then buried his head against her shoulder. "You can't just  _ say _ shit like that."   
  
He didn't seem to know what to do or what to say. It was hard for him to believe it, even when she was the one saying it. His view of himself had been long since established, when he was seeing the looks on people's faces when he stood with Edward and Lydia. Or before that in college. Sure, he'd gone to a lot of parties and been fairly popular there. But still. That wasn't what it was about.

“Why not?  _ You _ get to~ “ Lup nosed along his temple, her thumb running along his jaw.    
  
“It’s  _ equality _ , getting to compliment my smoking hot h-... _ boyfriend _ ....” her tongue almost betrayed her, she covered it by nuzzling his hair.    
  
“Gonna write that sonnet to your hands too,” her hand drifted down, back into the water, running along to his hand to lace their fingers together. Lifting them, she kissed each of his knuckles. “Fuckin’  _ beautiful _ .”

"Don't think I missed that slip, babe." He was smiling now, and he nuzzled against her shoulder. "Still, I'm really not. I don't know what you're seeing but uh... I mean, I'm glad you do."  
  
Lup stuck her tongue out at him, eyes dark with want. “I’ve been trying the word on for size, it fits you better.”   
  
He raised her hand to his lips and kissed the inside of her wrist. "I'm just... It keeps blowing my mind how _ lucky _ I am to have you in my life. I love you so much, Lup."  
  
She leaned in closer, her other hand cupping Barry’s cheek, as her eyes flicked over the lines of his face and she smiled,   
  
“You know what  _ you _ never see, babe?” She ran her thumb over his lower lip, smiling fondly. “You don’t see your face go all.... all  _ expressive _ when you look in the mirror.” She met his gaze, her face open and adoring, “you never get to see how smug you look right before you finish a spell at work, or that adorable soft face when you’re looking at Angus, or- or that look you give me that just  _ melts _ me, babe, and it’s not  _ fair _ when you use it public....”

"Gods... I..." He leaned forward to kiss her gently and then he rested his forehead against hers. "I just..."   
  
He took another breath and then smiled at her.    
  
"How about we talk about much I can't wait to hear you say it? To... to know it's real? And forever and... I know it's silly and we've already basically got all that but... It means a lot. You know? To just... to let everyone know that I'm yours forever."   
  
Was he deflecting? Oh, probably. But he didn't know how to respond to praise like this from her.  Lup grinned and bumped her forehead gently against his before running her cheek down Barry’s temple to rub against his jaw,    
  
“Keep changing the subject and I’ll read that poem  _ as _ my vows, babe.” Stroking her hands along his shoulders, she hummed at the actual  _ heat _ radiating off him.   
  
"I think I'd die a second time if you did. Just yeet myself directly into the fucking Astral Plane on the spot."    
  
Bringing her arms up to drape around Barry’s shoulders, Lup giggled as she tucked her face into the curve of his neck and relaxed against him. “FINE, fine... and it’s...S’not silly though....it’s like.... _ we _ know right now, but we can make sure everyone  _ else _ knows... and can turn it into a party or throw it in some asshole’s face and-“ she smirked, kissing his neck lightly, “-rings are more socially acceptable....”

He held her tightly and closed his eyes, enjoying how the water felt around them and the warmth flowing through him. He tilted his head back, giving her more access to his neck.  "Got a particular asshole in mind or just like uh... just assholes in general? Because I thought we were finally fresh out of assholes."   
  
His tone was light, mostly teasing as he tried to get himself back onto level ground.

"Just general assholes....I’m sure we’ll find new ones eventually," Lup nipped a familiar path up Barry's neck, not marking yet, just enjoying the feeling of his warm skin against her lips, and the soft sighs he made when she found his favorite spots.   
  
"Hey, quick question.....I have NO idea which traditions you use.... Like vows? Cool. We have the one, uh, the one firejumping one covered-" she grinned against his jaw and nuzzled under his ear. "I'm pretty chill with whatever....probably not redoing the elven handfasting, but y'know.  _ Trauma _ ."

He hummed quietly, eyes closed. "Yeah, definitely not uh... not that. I'll be real with you though, I've never thought about it? And Mom never said anything about it. There might be pictures in the attic though... We could always make something up just for us. Since... you know... among other things, that whole  _ til death _ bit is uh... well, that ship done sailed."   
  
Running his hands over her back, he found the places her muscles were usually sore after a long day and started working at them with gentle fingers. "I was sort of figuring blending traditions but I can get if you uh... if you don't want to do that."

Lup went, if possible, even more limp against him, a soft purr starting in her chest,   
"Hmm? Nah go nuts, babe....never, uuhhhh...." her voice trailed off into an exhalation of air as Barry found a knot under one of her ribs. "-.....attachment. To any. Thingummie. Was just gonna default to you...."   
  
Her fingers trailed soft circles around his shoulder blades where they could reach without her actually moving her arms.

Barry smiled, moving his fingers further down her back, "All I know is that I uh... I can't wait until I can say you're my wife and I'm your husband. It just feels right."    
  
He adjusted the way he was sitting just slightly, running one hand over her ass. Then he grinned, "So, how long were you thinking of staying in the hot tub, babe?"

Lup nuzzled his shoulder and smirked, “Right up until there was a danger of me being a hypocrite.....”   
  
Easing back,  _ surely _ not to lean into the hand that was still gently cupping her ass, she kissed Barry lightly and murmured against his mouth; “Can I fuck you tonight, [beloved?]” Her hands were sliding down his chest for the joy of touch, fingers slipping under the harness straps, “Can I listen to you beg with your gorgeous voice and feel you come apart around me? Will you let me do that to you, oh future husband of mine?”

A shiver ran down Barry's spine and he stood, lifting her with him. He had one arm supporting her back and the other under her legs and he laughed as he stepped out of the water, "Oh holy shit, yes,  _ please." _ He kissed her soundly, holding her against him. "Did you want those robes or nah? We can come back for them, right?"

Lup leaned into the kiss, twining her arms around his neck, “Unless the kids are back...” her ear twitched toward the door, beyond which the hotel room was dark and silent. “- fuck ‘em.”   
  
"Nah, the uh... I talked Kravitz into making sure they'll be out pretty late. So we've got the room to ourselves at least til midnight."

“Baller….” Barry was still warm against her, his power running out from his hands along her body to help him cheat at physics made her shiver, but more out of the contrast and anticipation. It was hard to stop kissing him long enough to let him carry her into the bedroom, and she caught his mouth again as soon as they were through the door. “How you feeling tonight, babe? Any preferences for where I put you?”   
  
He paused for just a moment, looking over at the bed and contemplating. Then he smiled slowly and kissed her again, "I wanna keep kissing you, that's for sure. But uh... other than that, up to you, Lup. You tell me what you want."

Lup hummed in thought and licked into his mouth again, distracted by the warmth of his tongue, unwilling to move now that she had his arm wrapped around her back, splayed along her hip. “What I  _ want _ .....” she pulled back, biting Barry’s lower lip, “I  _ want _ to suck your dick while I’m working you open, get you all flushed and desperate and  _ beautiful _ .” Her fingers came up to comb through his wet curls, “Then I  _ want _ to crawl on top of you and leave marks all over while you beg in my ear and I get to kiss you when you come.” She grinned, “how’s that?”

His eyes went very wide and he gave her a goofy little smile. Sitting on the end of the bed, he strayed kisses over her cheeks and down her neck. "That sounds so, so very good. You're just so... so good to me, so wonderful. I don't... I don't know what I did to be so lucky that I've got you here but.... but I'm glad." He blushed a little. "Like... above and beyond  _ this, _ I just... I love you so much and..." He trailed off a little, at a loss for words.

Lup caught his face in her hands, kissing him deeply, sending her love and affection over him in waves, “If there’s  _ anything _ to earn, [beloved], you earn it every day by being  _ you _ . Barry, I love you so fuckin’ much I-“ she paused and swiped an annoyed palm under her eye, “.... could you get the bag so I- I can just go back to talking dirty instead?”

He kissed her cheek lightly and then looked around, trying to spot the bag. He held his hand out, calling it to him, and then held it up for her, "Here you go, babe." He lay back, stretching, and smiled up at her. "Gods, you're beautiful."

“Takes one to know one,” Lup rubbed at her other eye, taking the supplies. Grabbing a pillow she helped Barry shove it under his hips, and put the glove on. Stretching out on her stomach, she ran her hand down Barry’s leg, lifting it onto her shoulder, “ _ Deffo _ getting a hot tub next,” grinning, she nosed at his cock as she teased his entrance. “Got a color, babe?”

"Green. Definitely, definitely green." He wiggled a little, getting himself positioned comfortably, and then pushed himself up on his forearms so he could watch her.    
"I could probably make a localized warming spell for my jeans if you just really don't like cold cock. I'm more than willing to do that for you, babe." He grinned slowly. "I just hadn't offered before because uh... because I kind of thought you were into it."

She stuck her tongue out at him as she slide a finger in, “Cock yes, ass maybe no,” So saying, she licked a stripe up his cock and took him down.    
  
She tried to match thrusts with strokes. Her ears flicked forward, listening for changing pitches in his voice as she sent a steady river of  _ lovelovelustMINEadorationMINEMINEMINE- _   
Pulling off him, she added a second finger and leaned forward to kiss and nip at the swell of his stomach, sucking a mark there he wouldn’t be able to ignore.

Barry had started to open his mouth in another joke and instead whimpered at that first contact. Within moments, he had both fists tight in the blankets, a constant stream of praise on his lips. When she drew back, he was gasping and he looked down at her again, a grin on his face that could best be described as Barry at his best and his worst.   
  
"I know this uh... this was a whole conversation back, babe, but I've been wondering." His head went back and the words trailed off momentarily. When he could get his mind to focus on anything other than the heat of her fingers inside him and the steady stream of needing and wanting rushing through him, he spoke again, words rushed and breathy. "I mean... I know it's not as just like... assumed as it used to be and I don't actually know how it works with elves but I guess I just uh... I just wanted to know if you were gonna take my name?"

Lup’s ears tilted back in surprise as she added a third finger. “Huh..... hadn’t thought of that.....”    
  
Turning to kiss along Barry’s inner thigh, she  _ did _ consider, rolling ‘Lup Bluejeans’ around in her head past the initial amusement.    
  
“Tell you what, babe, when I’m not trying to blow your mind, I think on it more.” She kissed the mark she’d left on his stomach, and met his eyes with amusement. Curling her fingers, she thrust harder.    
  
“Sound fair?”

He cried out, head going back. “S-sounds great- I... fuck, Lup,  _ please, _ please...”   
  
He reached for her, trying to pull her in for a kiss.

Nipping the side of his thigh, Lup paused in her motions to readjust enough so she could crawl over Barry and catch him in an open mouthed kiss.    
  
Biting his lower lip as she pulled away, she grinned, all sharp teeth and dark eyes,    
“Ready for me, babe? Or do you need one more ?~” her fourth finger ran along his rim, teasing.

He wrapped an arm around her tightly and kissed her, long and deep. His other hand went to her ear, giving a little tug. Then he paused, taking a second to consider.   
"One more."   
  
Running gentle fingers down the length of her ear, he kissed her again lightly and strayed kisses down her neck. He nipped at her collarbone, starting to suck a bruise into her skin there.

Lup let out a breathy whine, hand stuttering at the attention to her ear. Inhaling sharply when Barry began to work at her collarbone, she slipped a fourth finger in, curling her fingers and searching for his sweet spot.    
  
“ _ Gods _ , you’re gorgeous, babe.... so fucking good....”

A gasp stuttered out of him as she found it and he bit down perhaps a bit harder than he meant to.    
"F-fuck... Sorry, Lup. You... you okay?"

Lup yelped at the pain, and pulled away slightly to get her breath back,    
“Yeah- yeah, just surprised me, babe.”   
  
Leaning down, she trailed kisses along his jaw, “Feel ready, Bear?”

He hesitated for a moment, brushing gentle fingers over the spot on her collarbone. He was quickly distracted against by her.   
"Yeah, absolutely ready." He kissed the corner of her mouth. "Can't wait to feel you coming for me, Lup. Drives me crazy how good you sound."

Lup caught his mouth again as she pulled her fingers out and shucked the glove, “Sap,” kissing his nose, she pulled back to grab the condom packet and lube,   
“Can’t wait to feel you fall apart, [beloved], fucking amazing.”  
  
Whimpering softly as the suddenly feeling of emptiness, he leaned up to watch her.  
  
"You're so good, so wonderful. Love you so much. I love... love everything about you."

Lining up, Lup ran her hand down Barry’s thigh to hitch it around her waist, “color, babe?” She cupped his face in her hand, smiling fondly.

He was still running gentle fingers over her ear and his other hand rested on her shoulder.  
  
"Green across the board, babe. You?"

“On all panels,” Lup leaned in to kiss him, sighing into his mouth as she slide in. Rubbing small circles on his thigh with her thumb, she waited for them both to adjust before rolling her hips.    
  
“I love you, Barry, can’t wait to- to let everyone know-“ she broke away from his mouth and nipped down his neck to the curve at his shoulder where she bit at her favorite spot.    
“- let them all know how much you want to be  _ all MINE _ ....”

“I  _ am _ yours.”    
His voice was breathy and low, a bare whisper. And the words became a soft chant as he rocked his hips back against hers.    
  
“Always and forever, Lup. I’m yours.”

Lup whimpered, torn between wanting his voice in her ear and wanting to kiss it back into his mouth. Gripping his leg tighter, she pushed it forward more, snapping her hips harder against Barry’s.    
Leaning up on her elbow, she kissed him, hard and desperate.    
  
“Love you  _ so _ much, got- ....got to take care of you  _ always _ as much as you-“    
  
Nipping his chin, she sat up more, hand going to his cock.

Barry's head went back and the chant on his lips turned to a desperate moan. He wanted to touch her, to kiss her, he wanted his hands on her skin. He was so very close already, close enough that he was shaking with the effort not to come before she did. With another gentle tug on her ear, half just because that was where his hand was and half because he wanted her close again and she wasn't, he found his edge and his world went momentarily white.

“ _ There _ you are,  _ good _ Bear-“ Lup leaned down again, resting her forearms on either of Barry’s head and kissed him hard, drunk on his pleasure.    
  
“ _ Shit _ , I will fight anyone who thinks you aren’t lovely, including  _ you _ , babe,” she murmured against his skin, hips rocking slowly against his.    
“Fuckin’ gorgeous man,  _ all mine _ -“    
She snapped her hips forward harder

Barry was gasping, holding her close to him.    
"Gods... Lup,  _ Lup, _ beautiful amazing woman. Come for me.  _ Please, _ please, babe."   
  
His words stumbled over each other as they poured out of his mouth. He was begging desperately, straying kisses anywhere he could.

Lup whined, thrusting harder, and hooking one of his hands to put back on her ear.    
  
“So good.... so good to me,  _ fuck _ , [beloved]-“

He did one better, adjusting himself so he could tug on one of her ears and bite the other.    
"Come for me, [b-beloved.]"   
  
He stumbled over the elven word, as he always did, but he was trying. He'd heard it so many times on her lips and he wanted to say it back properly, even if he struggled to get his mouth to make the right sounds.

Lup keened into his shoulder, her hips stuttering to a halt, flush against his as she shuddered with the suddenness of her orgasm.

For a moment all she could do was lay there, panting, trying to get her limbs to listen to her again.  Slowly, she turned her face from Barry’s shoulder to his neck and laid sloppy kisses against it.   
  
“So good to me....love you, babe....”

"Love you too..."   
  
He ran his hands over her back, his eyes closed. After a long moment, he turned to kiss her forehead.   
  
"So... for the rest of the night, how do you feel about cuddling and watching shitty movies?"

“Positively. I feel positively about that exact scenario.”  She kissed his cheek and pulled herself up, grinning at the mess between them.  “And we just took a bath and all too...”

"I don't know that a hot tub technically counts as a bath, babe. There uh... there's a lack of shit like soap."  
  
He followed her up, keeping one hand on her lower back.   
  
"Shower first?"

“Mmmmmm, sounds good,” Lup caught Barry’s face between her hands and kissed him thoroughly.    
  
“And there’s snacks in the mini bar for the shitty tv. Sounds like a good night, babe.”


	11. Chapter 11

Keats had his hands in his pockets as he walked along behind the others. Savannah was cheerfully taking pictures, tail flicking back and forth in interest. She bumped her hip against his and smiled at him.    
  
"Come on, sweetie, keep up."   
  
"I'm coming, I'm coming."   
  
He glanced ahead where Angus was talking to Taako about something and his ears flicked back quickly in confusion.

Angus was flitting from one exhibit to another, standing on tiptoe to read every informational plaque there was and sometimes insisting that Taako read the ones that were too high up (and then having Kravitz correct him when Taako inevitably editorialized)    
  
Running back to Keats, he gripped his hand, grinning widely.    
“Look what I found!”    
  
Dragging Keats forward, he pointed at a civil war era photo, a group of black union officers in uniform.    
“ _ It’s Kravitz! _ ”

 

Keats looked down at Angus, already starting to laugh. Then he looked up at the photograph on the wall and his ears flicked straight up. It wasn't just that that soldier looked a little bit like Kravitz, he looked  _ exactly _ like Kravitz. Savannah leaned against Keats and looked up at the picture as well. Then she grinned and took a picture of it.   
  
"Hashtag historical lookalike, here I come."   
  
Keats turned back over his shoulder, staring at Kravitz, and then looking back at the photo. Then he bit his lower lip for a second and opened his mouth.   
  
"Hey Uncle Taako, come look at this. Angus found a picture of Kravitz."

 

Taako slid over in a way that suggested he wasn’t REALLY interested, but since he had shoved his hands in his pockets AFTER Keats said something, Angus knew it was an act.    
  
“Huh. Hey babe, you look GREAT in uniform.”    
  
Angus flipped open his notepad and made a note that Kravitz was  _ definitely _ older than Merle.

 

Savannah lowered her phone and looked at Taako oddly, "Wait a second, Mr Taako. Are you saying that that's  _ really _ him? Not just someone who looks like him?"   
  
Keats shrugged a little. That wasn't the weirdest thing he'd ever heard. Lydia used to tell him stories about the American Revolution and meeting Washington. Sure, he didn't exactly have the best scope of how long most people lived, but still. Weren't Mom and Uncle Taako around for the Civil War too? He was... pretty sure? He hadn't ever thought to ask.

 

Kravitz followed them over and raised his eyebrows at the photograph, “Ah. I wondered if Sam got that home.”    
  
He pointed at the plaque underneath;  _ photograph taken by Major Samuel Doles, Camden Point, 1864 _   
“It’s been a while since I’ve seen any of his children, I should check in on them.”

 

Savannah blinked a few times and then looked down at Angus, expression very clearly saying  _ are you hearing this?? _   
  
Angus was watching Kravitz carefully, but raised his finger to the ear closest to Savannah and tapped the end of it. Half elves weren’t nearly as long lived as full heritaged ones, but it was  _ possible _ ....    
  
But  _ not _ without actual aging showing.    
  


Keats leaned in a little, looking at the photo more carefully.   
“That’s pretty neat. Did you meet anybody cool?”

  
Kravitz smiled at Keats, “depends on your definition. Most of the men- and women- in my unit were  _ very _ ‘cool’, but you wouldn’t recognize their names. And some that you would I only met.... briefly.”    
  
He smiled again at the photo, “I did cross ways with Harriet Tubman several times, but she wasn’t interested in meeting me.”

 

Keats stared at Kravitz in awe. Savannah was frowning slightly even with what Angus was telling her. But then she shrugged. Maybe it was possible. It just didn't seem like it made a lot of sense. After a moment, she kept walking.    
"See anything else cool, Angus?"   
  
Keats was still looking at that display with all the Civil War photographs with his hands in his pockets. He was quiet, deep in thought.

 

Angus followed her, typing on his phone, “There’s more stuff about the Underground Railroad over here-“    
  
He glanced over his shoulder as they walked ahead of his uncles and whispered, “ _ how long _ has your Grandad been telling the Family to watch out for someone named Kravitz?”

 

Savannah leaned in to whisper in response.    
"I don't know. Least long enough that my Granny went pale when I mentioned him and said  _ her _ Granny told her to watch out for him."   
  
Angus frowned and called up his calculator, “how old’s your Granny?”    
  
Great-Great-Grandmother, and the Family tended to be long lived as humans and tieflings went. He underlined  _ ’older than Merle’ _ .    
  


"Um... I dunno. I've never asked. Old enough that she was a teenager during World War 2? She's got a really funny story about trying to make fudge with rationed ingredients and screwing it up and just like... eating it anyway because she'd used all their sugar and chocolate rations."

 

Keats was still standing with Kravitz and Taako and he stopped, ears suddenly flicking back as he realized and he edged away, going to go find something else to look at.

 

Taako glanced over as the moment of Keats’ leaving caught his eye and he groaned softly as he leaned into Kravitz.    
  
“Any ideas on how ch’boy can fix this fuck up, Bones?”

  
Kravitz put an arm around Taako and kissed his cheek lightly.    
"Try spending some time with him. And give him a chance."

  
Taako leaned further into the affection, his eyes narrowing slightly, “....Ango’s getting curious about you, ya know. Better cover your tracks better, Bones, the boy detective is on the case.”

 

Kravitz merely chuckled, watching the children talk, "If he does figure it out, then I would be even more interested in talking to him about a job when he's older."   
  
Angus tapped his fingernail against his teeth and glanced behind him as Keats caught up, “Keats, when’s Dad’s birthday? What year, anyway.”    
  


Keats frowned a little, doing quick math in his head, "27, I think. Yeah, that sounds right. 1927."

 

Angus typed that out, frowned, chewed his lip, and glanced behind them at Kravitz and Taako.    
  
Kravitz tilted his head as they caught up, “Where to next, Angus?”   
He met Angus’s gaze with some amusement. 

Angus frowned further, but didn’t press, “-pre Revolution?”    
  
“Sounds fine....hey, we got three, count ‘em,  _ three _ places to pick dinner from. Fight it out amongst yourselves,” Taako waited until all three of the kids had turned towards the exhibit before muttering, “just don’t piss off the nerd, babe, could get awkward.”   
  


The ‘I spy Kravitz’ quest, as Angus was starting to think of it, was derailed suddenly as Savannah clutched his arm and pointed at the line for another exhibit. 

 

_ “That used to be Tío Patlee’s job!” _

He was about to protest -  _ he wanted to see pirates  _ \- when Taako perked up, ears pricked forward, seeming to pull their whole group in his wake. 

 

“ _ There’s  _ a history blast I wasn’t expecting- oh hell yeah, they have that one book of poetry- hey look, Bones, I had a copy of that one. Read it to shreds, too.” 

 

The book in question behind an interactive spell panel was a plain covered hardback titled _Poems_ _From Horseback_. The spell projected each page on the wall behind the exhibit as one touched either forward or back indicators. Grinning, Taako pushed past a gaggle of older human women to flip through to a specific page. 

 

“Dude had a way with words; was, uh, was real nice to see all that-“ he flapped a hand, “ _ Romance _ shit from someone other than a straight guy.” 

 

Kravitz came up behind him, putting an arm around his waist, 

“Should I be taking notes, darling?” 

 

Keats rolled his eyes, turning away from that to follow Savannah over to a set of photographs she was looking at. For the most part, it was scenes from the wild west, cowboys and wagon trains. What caught his attention, though, was a photograph near the end of a man standing by an open fire with almost a grilling set up over it. Beyond it was a room that made his eyes light up, a whole other exhibit full of cooking and food. It started out simple, corn cakes and sweet potatoes, but soon he was seeing foods he’d heard of but never gotten to try. Collard greens, okra, grits, gumbo. It all sounded delicious but Edward and Lydia had never eaten things like that. He could remember so many meals of coq au vin or duck confit or even cassoulet. But they had rarely, if ever, eaten barbecue. But there was so much here. Pulling out his phone, he started taking pictures and taking notes. Maybe he could find a cookbook in the gift shop when they were headed out. Did this museum have a gift shop? He hadn’t actually asked.

 

“-shit dude, I  _ wish _ I had that set up. We mostly made do with two pans pushed into whatever shape we needed. And iron hates bein’ transmuted, so that was a whole mess of fun-“ Taako had followed him to the grilling display. The longer he looked over the display the more his vowels elongated, consonants eliding into each other. 

 

Keats’ ears flicked towards Taako, listening with interest. “Really? You know how to cook over a fire like this? Is it hard? Can you teach me?”

 

Keats had, admittedly, cooked in some unique situations. If by cook, you meant heat up food and then doctor it into tasting edible, and by unique situations, you meant over a pinch of C4 plastic without a detonator. But he’d never cooked over a fire.

 

Taako drummed his fingers against the leg opposite Keats, pretending he wasn’t looking him over out of the corner of his eye. 

“Ch’yeah, it’s just frying shit. Only the heat source isn’t consistent and there’s no nonstick pan within seventy years of you, and if you burn the eggs everyone has to eat ‘em anyway because they’re hungry.” 

 

There were many ways to hone a magical gift, but the one that always stuck was necessity and the prospect of going hungry if a spell went wrong. Transmuting a rusty cast iron pan into something usable when the alternative was eating something raw meant finding ways around iron’s resistance to magic. Taming fire when not doing so meant freezing to death had a way of focusing the mind. 

 

Well, that sort of thing sounded painfully familiar to Keats. Still, this looked so good in the photos and the dioramas in front of him. “If I got Mom to let me set it up in the backyard, could you show me? Aside from the temperature control, is it all that different from cooking at the stove?”

 

“Eeeeeehhhhhh,” Taako waved a hand dismissively, “if you can scramble ham and eggs, it doesn’t really matter where you do it.”

 

Keats’ entire body went rigid, his ears flicked back involuntarily. It was so sudden, hot the heels of even slightly thinking about back then, that his mind conjured the smells, the sounds. The little tin of eggs and ham cooking over their blue flames from the C4 plastic, the guy next to him saying they didn’t have too much longer before they’d need to move if they wanted to clear the next pass before dark.

 

“I can’t scramble eggs.” The words were clipped as they came out, almost toneless if it wasn’t for the bitter note. It almost sounded sarcastic, if you didn’t know Keats. If you didn’t know how he shut down.

 

Taako’s ears pinned down and he inspected his nails as if they were the most interesting thing in the museum. So much for a DECENT conversation. 

“Yeaaaah, I guess that’s too plebeian a dish. Left it up to the  _ Help,  _ right?” 

 

Keats felt like he’d been slapped. He could hear,  _ feel _ , the way the shitty mess fork had scraped in the M-unit tin as he stirred his meal, trying to get it to heat evenly. The eggs had been awful but it was a hot meal. And about an hour later, he’d been covered in his own blood, screaming on the jungle floor. And he could hear that ringing in his ears now too, drowning out anything Taako might have said after that. There were tears streaming down his face as he tried to say something, anything, his throat tight. He felt like he was choking, he could barely breathe, and all he could hear was screaming.

 

Taako expected a comeback, Keats to stomp off,  _ anything _ aside from the strangled noise the boy made and the way he seemed to fold in on himself as tears streamed down his face. 

 

“What the  _ FUCK-? _ ” 

 

His brain caught up with his mouth at some point, and he replayed the conversation back, actually thinking about the cues given, considering what he missed. 

 

He still didn’t know, but he knew it was there. Fuck. 

 

“Uh….” Taako reached out a hand, stopping before actually touching, “Ki- Keats, I, uhhh, I think it’d be good if you- yeah, if you sat? Down?” 

 

Very hesitantly he touched the boy’s shoulder. And Keats flinched, instinctively pulling away from touch. He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to remember how to pull himself back out of this rushing tide that was pulling him under. 

 

“I- I’m o-okay. You can- you can go find Kr-Kravitz. I’ll st-stay here.”

 

Taako’s phone chimed just then, making him jump. He pulled it out and nearly bit his tongue at the text from Lup. Completely innocuous, a picture of her and Barry’s dinner. He glanced up at Keats, still folded in on himself, and thought almost hysterically about sending ‘looks cool also I broke your boy’ in reply. 

 

Sighing, he put his phone away and carefully laid a hand back on Keats’ shoulder. 

 

“Yeah. Right. C’mon, bubelah, there’s a bench over there.” 

 

Keats nodded a little, letting Taako guide him to the bench. Then he tried to wipe his eyes on his sleeve. He felt shaky and he wanted to just curl up in a little ball. And all of this over scrambled eggs. It felt stupid, even though he knew it wasn’t.

 

Taako fidgeted with the hem of his tunic, pulling out a loose thread and twining it around his fingers as he turned it from cotton to wool to Velcro and back again, waiting for Keats’ breathing to even out. 

 

“So uh,” he trailed off and stared at the illustration on the wall of a herd of cattle, driven by various beings on horseback. “So… So  _ not _ eggs?” 

 

“S-sunny side are good. Like those.” Keats trailed off for a moment. “I made a quiche too. A-A quiche lorraine? Mom said it came out really well. Can’t do scrambled.” He took another long pause, trying to focus on the sounds in the room instead of the sounds in his memory. “We used to get them a lot? N-not at home. In the C-rats? Um... C-rations. That’s- I ate them the day I-” He stopped again. “The days I was on patrol.”

 

_ Good job, dingus, _ came Lup’s voice in his head. Taako sighed again, drooping towards the ground, still fidgeting with his thread. Leather, flax, wool again. 

 

“You’d want, ah…. fried ham. And fried eggs then. S’more… it’s more work ‘cause you gotta get the timing right, but it’s basically the same thing…” he trailed off, cutting his eyes to the side to glance at Keats’ face.

 

Keats was still staring ahead, still pale, but starting to get his breathing back under control. His shoulders were hunched, his posture stiff.

 

“Fried sounds good. I like fried eggs...” He scrubbed at his face more. “Sorry I... Sorry...”

 

Wool, duck feather, swan feather, oak leaf.

 

“Nah, I think, uh…. uh I think that one’s on me. For sure, for sure. I’m sup _ posed _ to be the adult here.” Taako made a face, oak leaf to silver coin and flipped it in the air. It was copper when it landed. 

 

Keats pulled his knees up to his chest, his sneakers on the bench. “All you did was answer my question... S’not your fault I’m-” He cut himself off, half a dozen words ready to spill out and none of them something his therapist would want him to be saying.

 

Taako groaned, pulling his hat off to run fingers through his hair, “fuck’s sake...I’m an asshole, but not  _ that _ kind of asshole. You just-“ Taako shrugged one shoulder, picking up his coin again and turning it back into a thread. “...just wasn’t… lookin’ right. Is all. I should be better about this stuff.” 

 

“I don’t understand.” Keats did turn to look at Taako then, one ear flicked up and the other down. “Why should you know what’s gonna bother me? I barely know what’s gonna bother me!”

 

Taako set his chin on his fist and stared at Keats like he was a new spell diagram to be mapped out. It was a pose that Lup often took and could be very eerie when they adopted it together. 

 

“....you doing any better?” 

 

“Yeah... I think so.” Keats sighed and stretched out again, feet back on the floor where they belonged. “This is stupid.” He scrubbed at his face with his sleeve once more. His voice was quiet when he spoke again. “I wish this would stop happening. It’s always things that feel stupid and little after. But it keeps happening.”

 

Taako was silent, ears just barely tilted down as he stared at his fingers. 

“...You know like… Lup’s afraid of lightning, right? And Barold’s got a buncha different things going on… and I-“ he cleared his throat, staring fixedly at the mural now, “- ch’boy went a long ass time not- not cooking after a, uh, a thing. Happened. Brains are shitty.”

Keats shifted slightly so he could look at Taako better.

 

“But...” Then he went quiet again. He’d seen the effects of everything that had happened on his Dad but Mom? Afraid? Mom wasn’t afraid of anything, he was pretty sure of that. Then he thought about all the thunderstorms and how close Dad stayed to Mom’s side during those, how tightly flicked back her ears were, how pale she was. “Alright... maybe. But there was no therapy and stuff back then. I’ve got mine on speed dial. Shouldn’t I be better?”

 

Taako snorted derisively, “ _ Yeah _ , that’s how it works. Knowing you gotta broken leg is all it takes to walk on it again, and once you figured out you have- have anemia, that’s all it takes to have energy again. Yeah. S’how organs work.” 

 

Keats’ ears drooped again. “That’s not what I meant.”   
  
Taako shrugged, not letting Keats see the wince that passed over his face. Fuck, he was really shitting this up. 

 

“‘Better’ is relative, m’man.” 

 

“You don’t cry over eggs.” His tone was flat and then he leaned back against the wall.

 

“Wanna bet?” Taako set his chin back in his hand, staring off down the hall. “-cried over chicken before. Couple’a times.” 

 

“Oh...” Keats’ ears flicked and he stared into the distance as well. “Does it ever get better?”

 

“Like I said, s’relative. You get better than yesterday’s best, then slide back to last month’s best, which is still better than last year’s….” He twirled a finger in a spiral in the air. “Then eventually you figure out it’s been six months since the last time and hey, maybe this isn’t so bad after all.” Taako shrugged again. 

 

“Is that how it went for you?” Keats sounded genuinely curious now and he’d turned towards Taako. 

 

Taako’s ears twitched, cutting a glance at Keats before staring back at the mural, “............yeah. Comes up, uh- uh, on occasion still. And I’m older than you, so…. I guess… don’t beat yourself up?” The sentence curled into a question at the end, Taako finally meeting Keats’ gaze for more than an instant. 

 

“-that’s a bathroom over there. If you wanna wash your face.” 

 

Keats nodded, standing. “Yeah, I should do that.” He sighed and turned towards the bathroom. “I’ll be right back, I guess.”

 

He headed into the small bathroom and went to the sink, splashing cold water on his face. Taako was right, he knew that. It was just right in the moment that he felt like he had to be doing something wrong that this kept happening. Later, he would just add it to the list in the notes in his phone. Things they knew were triggers, things he knew to avoid. 

 

Once his eyes were less red and his face less blotchy, he headed back out into the exhibit hall to where Taako was waiting. He was dragging his feet as he walked back, tugging on one ear. Despite everything, there was some part of him still waiting for the other shoe to drop, still waiting for Taako to say something biting.

 

"All better. Or at least, all clean." 

 

Angus was standing next to Taako, practically bouncing on his toes as he pointed at the mural and recited back information plaques about rancheros and vaqueros and the perils of a cattle drive.

 

“Yeah? Maybe the next animal you can add to the zoo is a burro- oh hey, Keats.” Taako glanced him over and nodded, satisfied. “Cool. Glad to know that foundation batch is working.” He hesitated, eyes flicking away, “- if it wasn’t, I’d have fucked it up somewhere and had to fix it.”    
  
Gesturing grandly, he walked off towards the next exhibit.    
  
Angus looked up from his phone where he was opening photos to show Keats, looked at him, at Taako, then back at Keats, forehead furrowed slightly.

 

Keats' ears flicked to neutral as he listened to Taako but they perked up as he turned to Angus and grinned. The smile was a little shaky, maybe, and his eyes a little red, but he was smiling.    
  
"Find more clues, [little brother]?"   
  
Ignoring this, Angus tugged at Keats’ sleeve, frowning, “[What was Taako apologizing for?]”

 

Keats’ ears flicked straight up and he looked at Angus in confusion.    
  
_ There was an apology in there? _   
  
Keats ran back through the conversation in his head, but he couldn’t remember anything that sounded like one. If anything  _ he’d _ been the one apologizing,   
“[Nothing? I mean, I don’t think he was apologizing for anything? He wasn’t, I think.]” 

 

Angus rolled his eyes, “[He said he fucked up and needed to fix it, I didn’t say he was  _ good _ at apologizing.]”    
  


"[He was talking about the makeup, though. Wasn't he? Also, if you don't want Taako to hear what we're saying, why are we speaking  _ elvish?]" _ Keats held Angus' hand tightly as they walked along. He was glad they were moving towards something different, at least. It looked like sports, which was pretty neat.    
  


“ _ Sure _ he was, didn’t you-“ Angus studied his brother’s face, uncertain, “Your face is fine, he wouldn’t have mentioned anything if he didn’t mean anything by it.”    
  


"The more people tell me about him... the less I understand."

  
Pictures of black halfling gymnasts distracted Angus briefly before he remembered Keats’ original question; “Oh, Kravitz just said he’d been all over Africa, and smirked at me, I think he’s having fun.”   
  
Keats perked up, tugging Angus over to another display. This one featured baseball players, including several Keats had followed as a kid.    
  
"I think I had his rookie card..." He pointed at one half-elf. "You know, I never did get my stuff from-" He cut himself off and frowned. "From my old room."

 

Angus blinked, then let go of his hand and ran up to Kravitz, “Who took apart Edward’s old house? Your work had to clear it out, right?”

 

Kravitz raised an eyebrow and then looked down at Angus, "One of my coworkers did. Why?"

 

He pointed back, “We never went back for Keats’ stuff.” He thought about that previous spring and summer and shrugged.    
“Everyone forgot.”

 

"There was a lot going on." Kravitz conceded. "I can have a word with Lilian. She did the packing and she should know which things are from his room. They're in our storage."   
  
Keats had a bright blush on his cheeks and he caught up with them.   
"It's not all that important... It can definitely wait. I mean, it's not like I've needed anything from there... or anything..."

 

Angus frowned up at him, “well yeah, but it’s still your  _ stuff _ .”   
  
Lup had taken him and Magnus to his Grandpa’s house with the lawyer to load up his books and anything he didn’t want sold off. She’d even  _ glared _ the man into submission when he suggested the study should be kept pristine and Angus couldn’t touch anything in there.    
  
They’d all forgotten to do that for Keats and it was still his childhood  _ too _ .    
  
“It’s not like we’re going right NOW.”    
  
“Damn straight, right  _ now _ ch’boy is getting hangry. Where’d y’all decide on?” Taako draped across Kravitz and looked at them as Savannah came from the direction of the bathrooms. She leaned against Keats, her tail twining around his wrist.   
"What were the choices again?"   
  
Keats put an arm around her waist. "I think Angus should pick. Unless one of the options was burgers. Then I vote for burgers."

  
“I want burgers!”    
  
Taako snorted, as Kravitz wrapped an arm around his waist, “Heathens. Alright  _ fine _ , but we’re getting the  _ good _ kind. If I hear one mention of the ‘m’ word-“    
  
Angus started digging in his pocket for his school ID, grinning broadly. Taako pointed a finger at him;   _ ”Don’t” _   
  
Kravitz laughed out loud and guided Taako towards the exit.


	12. Chapter 12

The next day, Taako and Kravitz were off to have some private time ("Without the extended nerd train, Lulu.") and Keats and Savannah had been handed extra pocket money for the train or a Lyft and were excitedly talking about their plans. That left Lup and Barry with just Angus for the day and they had planned a whole special day just for him: they were going to the Spy Museum. Not that they had told Angus that was today just yet, but Barry had a feeling that their clever boy Just Knew.    
  
He pushed the door to the kids' room open after Keats and Savannah had gone, a grin on his face.    
"Ango, ready to go?"

Angus looked up from where he was stuffing his lockpick kit into his bag and beamed,    
  
“ _ Yes! _ ”    
  
Swinging the bag over his shoulder, he bounced to the door, looking past Barry to where Lup was slipping on her Birkenstocks, Taako censure be damned.    
  
“Can we do the spy mission? It’s like an escape room, but you have to diffuse a bomb and stop someone leaking secrets on the internet.”    
  
“Depending on what those secrets  _ are _ I might let that happen anyway....” Lup looked up and grinned. “-sounds fun though”

"Sounds like fun to me. But uh... I think we might have a double agent in our midst, bud." Barry pointed towards Lup. "You're gonna have to stop her if she's gonna uh... if she's gonna jeopardize the mission. Think you can do it?"   
  
He was grinning broadly and he stepped out of the way so Angus could come into their room. Then his phone buzzed and he pulled it out for a quick check. Yup, there was Keats and Savannah's first check in. They had set up a system of periodic check ins just so they knew the pair was alright in their day of adventures, and so they would have some heads up if something went wrong. He sent back a thumbs up emoji and looked over at Lup.   
  
"We're getting a taxi, right?" Pause. "Wait, wait, no. Not a taxi. The uh... the phone app... taxi... I got it... it's... Lyft! We're getting a Lyft, right?"

Angus gave Lup a narrow eyed look that got him  an evil grin as she pulled out her phone,    
“That’s the one. C’mon, our driver will be in here innnnn six minutes.”    
  
Their driver was an orc woman with an encyclopedic knowledge of all the most haunted areas in DC; a fact she shared with them unprompted and waxed enthusiastic about the whole drive there.    
  
Angus was enthralled and sort of disappointed when they pulled up to the front of the museum. He wanted to hear more about Georgetown.    
  
“Give her  _ all _ the stars, Mom, can we do ghost tours every vacation?”

"What, don't get enough ghosts at home, Ango?" Barry teased, holding out his hand for Angus. He had to admit though, he would really like to do another ghost tour too. They were fun and educational. And weirdly comforting, since he would be reminded once again that he, Keats, and Julia weren't the only dead people wandering around out there. It was nice to be reminded of that from time to time.   
  
"Alright, before we head inside, let's get our story straight. Do we need to lie about how old you are to do this thing? I seem to recall someone saying that was a thing."

“Twelve and up. Congrats, Angus, you just had another birthday.”    
  
Angus grinned, bouncing slightly as he tucked his hand into Barry’s, braids dancing slightly with unused energy. Lup reached out to tweak one in a minor warning, but he didn’t take it too seriously since she was smiling.    
  
The museum had a clever mix of real and imagined spy work; displays of popular movies sat next to the exhibits of people and agencies that helped inspire them.    
  
Angus had seemingly limitless amounts of energy to run from one to the next.    
  
“You would  _ think _ after three days of museums, either his brain would overflow or his feet would fall off...” Lup murmured to Barry as Angus watched a volunteer show off listening and dampening spells used in the Cold War.

Barry chuckled quietly and responded in kind, leaning close. “Nah, he’s like a fact sponge with sass. Anyway, this shit is really cool.”   
  
He hadn’t been able to stop grinning at the decoder rings and the invisible ink, and all of the things like that. He could remember excitedly listening to The Shadow on the radio or watching Buck Rogers when it came out on tv and it was just like he remembered. Plus finally seeing all the tools and devices that had been in active use in his lifetime. He was seriously eyeing a scale model of the U2 spy plane they had on display and he nudged Lup.   
  
“Think they’ve got that in the uh... the gift shop?”

“I hope so, that one’s tight as hell.”    
  
Lup made a mental note that they would  _ probably _ need to pick up an extra duffel bag to carry all the souvenirs everyone was accumulating.    
  
The demonstration ended and Angus bounced back to them, his phone out to the note app.    
  
“ _ Mom _ , can I try the listening in spell at home?” His face turned pious, “-on  _ Keats’ _ bedroom.”    
  
Lup snorted, “If he says it’s alright, I guess.”

Barry raised an eyebrow but he didn't make the comment that was in his head. At least Keats would have the sense to make sure Angus didn't learn anything he shouldn't. Probably, anyway.    
  
"And if Savannah's over, you should probably ask her too, right, bud?" Barry turned back towards the spy plane, beckoning for Angus to come see. "Have you learned about this? I remember when one got shot down. It sure was a thing. Everyone uh... everyone made a really big deal out of it, fighting over what they thought had happened."

“I wouldn’t do it when he didn’t  _ know _ ....” Angus scoffed, “I just want to see if it  _ works _ ....”   
  
He followed Barry, eyes lighting up as he leaned over to see the informational boards.    
“No we haven’t covered the Cold War yet!”    
  
Lup leaned on the railing watching them both with an easy grin. When Angus had read everything there was, he bumped his shoulder against her side.    
  
“I wouldn’t  _ really _ spy on anyone without them knowing,” he paused. “-in the house.”    
  
Lup snorted, “good to know. Anyway, mechanical bugs are so good now, they’re much more efficient than spells, just for your  _ education _ . You don’t need to maintain them and a small Don’t Notice is a lot less energy on set up. Plus, better range.”    
  
Angus’s eyes lit up and he pulled out his phone again.

"I'll level with you, Ango. The Cold War was pretty shit. Only the spying parts of it are any fun. The rest of it was... Existential dread with a side order of propaganda and uh... and really stupid PSA cartoons with a turtle telling us a desk or a newspaper could save us from an atomic bomb. Spoiler alert there, it won't. Ask Keats about it later. I know for a fact his school had duck and cover drills."   
  
Barry moved on to another display and looked back at them with a smile.   
  
"There's a whole room full of cameras over here. I think there's one in a bowtie."

“ _ Those _ are fun, there’s all sorts of places people figured out to put those where no one would think to look- “   
  
The expression on Angus’s face was thoughtful, Lup imagined she could  _ see _ wheels turning in his head,    
“Why did they tell you desks would save you? And why a  _ newspaper? _ And do you think Kravitz uses spells or cameras at work?”

"To keep people from panicking, mostly." Barry shrugged a little. "They were trying to convince people that if we actually had a nuclear war, that we could survive and win. They were mostly trying to protect people from the radiation parts of it, which is why a newspaper would do anything."   
  
He shrugged a little and looked around at all the cameras in the displays. There were some very cool pen cameras and microcameras that really caught his attention.    
  
"Probably both. I can't imagine they'd only use magic, you know?"

Angus looked even  _ more _ thoughtful at that, and Lup felt the faint stirrings of.... not  _ worry _ but unease. Yeah, unease was a good word.    
  
“Why all the questions about Krav lately, lil man?”    
  
“I want to figure out how old he is and what he is,” Angus replied promptly. “He was in a bunch of photographs and paintings at the museum last night- three,” he corrected himself,” just three. But that’s just the ones we  _ saw _ . And I want to  _ know _ . Savannah’s whole Family is scared of him and for  _ ages _ .”

Barry exchanged a look with Lup and then shrugged. He didn't think any harm could come from it. If Kravitz had a problem with it, he would speak up.    
  
"If you figure it out, you're gonna tell us, right? Because I'm more than a little curious." Then he paused. "Savannah's family is  _ scared _ of him? The... the ones who casually have a demon lord pop by for brunch are... afraid of  _ Kravitz?" _

Lup checked their tickets and reached out to tug Angus’s shoulder, “walk and explain, Ango, nearly time for the escape room.”   
  
Angus brightened considerably, though he lowered his voice when he turned to Barry,    
“Savannah said  _ Grandad _ is scared of Kravitz. And she learned that from her Granny who learned from  _ her _ Grandma.”    
  
Lup’s ears twitched and she grinned, “do they know he puts costumes on his cats? Like, I’m not denying he’s a weirdo, but the cat costume pictures exist and they’re a fuckin’ delight.”

"You say that like you wouldn't, babe. If you found a cute costume, you would  _ absolutely _ dress Tess up."   
  
As they approached the escape room, Barry leaned down to Angus, "Remember what your Mom said earlier. We gotta keep an eye on her incase she really  _ is _ a double agent. Got it, bud?"

Angus considers Lup, “she’d be from an anarchist cell.”    
  
Lup hooted with laughter as they joined the line for the Operation Spy  _ Experience _ . “Hey now, I LIKE the trappings of society!”

“Definitely not anarchy. Maybe a communist cell though. You never know what those Reds are gonna get up to,” He grinned a little, showing it was at least mostly a joke.

“Only a little pink, socialism all the way, baby,” Lup draped over Barry’s shoulders squeezing him just this side of too tight, “Don’t listen to Senator McCarthy here, Angus, we can save the world together and take down the oppressive capitalistic overlords!”    
  
The line moved and the ticket taker looked from them to Angus, clearly not sure if they were interrupting.    
  
“Uh...just as a warning, this  _ is _ ages twelve and up for suspense and stressful situations, as well as blinking lights, sir... and ma’am.”    
  
“Angus is very much twelve and here are our tickets, you have a lovely evening.” Lup flashed her most stunning smile, still draped across Barry.    
The ticket taker looked somewhat stunned and mumbled that they should enjoy the show.

* * *

As they walked back out of the spy experience, Barry was grinning ear to ear. They'd solve the mystery without much trouble and, as always, Angus had blown him away with how smart he was. It seemed like every time they put something new to learn in front of their son, he would practically inhale it. Barry put a hand on Angus' shoulder, giving him a hug as they walked.

  
"Good job, bud." He paused for a moment, fishing in his pocket for the museum map. "So, exhibit halls or dinner, next?"

Angus was beaming, clutching his prize bag of Official Spy Tools  ™ and his braids occasionally lifting to wave in the air. There had been a null magic field at the last and he was still having trouble keeping his magic from wanting to jump off his skin.    
  
“I’m  _ real _ hungry, can we go to that gelato place?”    
  
Lup grinned and tugged a braid that was just lifting over his ear,    
“After a burger or something, sure. I think you’ve earned that after saving the free world.”

"How do you two feel about diner food? Because I found one that looks great. Like a  _ real _ dinner. With breakfast all day and everything."   
  
Barry tucked the map back into his pocket. As they walked, he asked Angus about the last room and how it had gone. He'd had to skip it due to the null magic field. Noelle was working on a solution to that problem but hadn't been able to solve it just yet. She'd been working on it since Keats' harness battery had died in Boston. They hadn't even been able to get that particular battery to charge again afterwards. But while she was still trying to solve that, Barry was being particularly careful around areas that nullified magic in any way. "Bet you could get a real good milkshake."

“That sounds  _ amazing _ , let’s go for it,” Lup was tugging uneasily at one of her earrings; the null magic had made her feel claustrophobic, and she hadn’t been the only one out of several adults. All in all, Angus had probably dealt with it the best.    
  
Neither of them were inclined to thank his previous experience.    
  
“Can I get pancakes?” Angus was digging through his bag, looking over the cheaply charmed Don’t Notice bracelets, and the lock picking kit with only three picks.

"Absolutely. I'm thinking... cheeseburger and fries with a malt."    
  
Barry rotated his phone a little, trying to orient himself on the little map. Then he sighed and just tapped the button for directions. Once they had loaded, he handed his phone to Angus and grinned.    
"Lead on, bud."

The diner was one that leaned  _ hard _ into the fifties aesthetic, and Lup couldn’t help but give Barry a highly ironic look. But the burgers were good and Angus inhaled his giant stack of pancakes before looking at the dessert menu intensely. Lup couldn’t even  _ think _ of following anything after the enormous portions.

After dessert, it was time to start heading back to the hotel so they could meet up and Angus could join up with Keats and Savannah for the rest of the night. As they were walking down the street though, Barry was looking in the windows of the stores and his eyebrows went up. Then he leaned in to Angus, keeping his voice low.   
  
"Hey bud, think you could distract your Mom for me for a minute? I just uh... just wanna grab something real quick."

Angus was swiveling his Pokémon app as Barry spoke and he gave him a thumbs up.    
Running to catch up with Lup, he showed her his phone and pointed at the high level raid running a block over,    
  
“Help me beat this?”   
  
She perked up in interest, “Hell yeah, let’s kick ass, lil man.”  
  


* * *

The gym was next to a small bench in a not quite alley outside the store Barry had ducked into and Lup felt relieved at being able to sit again after their third day of walking.

  
While they waited for the timer to finish, Lup twitched an ear in Angus’s direction and scanned the early evening traffic in front of them,    
  
“Hey.... I have a quick question....”    
  
Angus tensed slightly, looking up at her warily, “that’s never a good start, Mom.”    
  
She snorted, swapping out one attacker for another, “yeah, I suck at subtle. Taako told me you came to a lesson crying a few weeks back because of something Keats did. How come you didn’t tell us anything, kiddo?”    
  
Angus stared at his screen as it went dark and started tapping furiously, not answering straight away. Lup joined him and didn’t press.    
About half way through, Angus spoke up,    
“June isn’t allowed at our house if Keats is there, anymore, and I couldn’t ask her along for this trip. Her dad doesn’t want her going anywhere where she doesn’t feel comfortable.”   
  
Lup winced and didn’t respond beyond, “Ah.” And let the silence between them grow until the raid finished.    
  
“You didn’t answer my question, though. Did you even tell Ms. Silver about this?”   
  
“No.” Angus was thoroughly focused on his phone, scrolling through his new Pokémon’s stats.    
  
“So just Taako.”    
  
“Yeah.”    
  
“Why’s that?”    
  
Angus scowled and reached up to tug a braid, “I didn’t want Keats  _ apologizing _ .”

Lup’s eyebrows went up and Angus spun the gym, waiting for the raid to finish so he could attack it.    
“Anyyyyyy particular reason for that?”    
  
“He’ll get mopey and try to make it up to me and then I  _ feel _ bad and I didn’t want to. I just.... I just wanted to stay angry for a little while.”    
  
Lup blinked and glanced at her phone, “Huh...... you want help with this gym?”    
  
Angus glanced at her and smiled very slightly, “if you snipe it, I’m gonna kick your ass.”    
  
She laughed and bumped her shoulder against his, “and I’ll fucking deserve it.”    
  
It was odd, being the one to be silent and try to make the other person fill it with words. It wasn’t a patience she’d had much use for learning before, always willing to let Taako do it, and even  _ Barry _ was much better at it.    
  
Maybe the secret was to have something to do with your hands.    
  
“So you’re angry with Keats because his explosion means you can’t hang out with June as much, which is shitty. But you  _ don’t _ want him to know,  _ or _ us, and you still haven’t really explained  _ why _ .    
  
He slumped against the bench and glared at her- well. Pouted. It was adorable, and if she said that he would deservedly never speak to her again.    
  
“Because I get  _ tired _ . He’s... I love him and I  _ know _ he tries and I know he’s got- got all that stuff to work on, but I just want to be  _ angry _ sometimes without him going all.... all  _ sad _ .” He closed the app and folded his arms, kicking his legs in a way that would have worked better six months ago when his feet didn’t quite hit the floor.    
  
“ _ Taako _ doesn’t get sad when  _ you _ get annoyed, he just- he fixes it later after you’ve argued.”    
  
Lup grimaced, “I’m not  _ entirely _ sure  _ Taako _ is who you should be modeling your apologies after, but I get your point.”

Sighing, she leaned against the wall behind the bench, watching the mass of varied peoples in front of her.    
  
Thinking it over, Angus’s silent avoidances of Keats had been getting more and more often when they had the occasional spat. Lup ground her teeth a bit at the thought that Taako might actually have been sort of right in this instance.    
  
“So instead of being angry at him and making him feel bad, you’re just... angry and pretend you aren’t? Doesn’t seem like a super good trade off, lil man.”    
  
Angus slumped, “No..............and I didn’t tell Ms. Silver or Dad because they would tell  _ you _ and you’d take Keats’ side.”    
  
Lup’s ears shot straight into the air and she sat up, blinking at him.   
  
He didn’t meet her eyes, “well you  _ would _ , even if you talked to him about it you would. And I don’t- I’m not-“ his shoulders went up further and he looked away.    
  
Lup eased back, running her hands up her ears and through her hair, still blinking.    
  
“Ango...I don’t... know what to say to that, fuck....”    
  
“It’s fine,” he said too quickly, “he’s gonna be around longer, I know that, it just-“    
  
“Wait, waitwaitwaitwai- you think I play favorites because he’s elvish? Or because you’re  _ human? _ ”   
  
The side of Angus’s shoulder went up and down.

“Oh boy... this is  _ not _ a middle of the street conversation...” Lup yanked her curls harder.    
  
“You started it, Mom,” Angus’s tone was wry and his shoulder eased down slightly.    
  
She laughed, “yeah.... yeah I asked for that.” Sighing, she leaned forward to set her chin on her fist and looked at him.    
“You okay talking about this in front of your Dad or do we need a rain check?”    
  
He made a face, “till  _ when? _ ”    
  
She shrugged.   
  
He sighed and tugged a braid, “......yeah. I guess I don’t mind him.....”

At that moment, Barry walked back out of the store he'd ducked into with a small bag in his hand and looked back and forth between them. He had been expecting to find them still playing Pokemon, not whatever... whatever this was.   
  
"Is uh... is everything...?" He trailed off then and tried again. "What happened?"

“Mom started it,” Angus swiped through his defenders until he decided on one and stood up.    
  
Lup sighed and stretched her feet before joining them,    
“Something Taako said yesterday. Also apparently I haven’t noticed that I’m playing favorites too.”

Barry adjusted his glasses, suddenly feeling off balance. He'd been gone for a couple minutes. Worry spiking, he looked back and forth between them for a long moment. Then he pulled out his phone.   
  
"I'm gonna let Keats know we're gonna be late. Wanna go get an ice cream and talk about this?" He paused for a second. "But not too late. I happen to know that uh... that Keats and Savannah have plans to take you to a laser tag arcade thing, Ango."

Angus brightened at that and jumped up,    
“Gelato!”    
  
Lup tried to smile at Barry to soothe his worry, but since she was barely keeping her anxiety from spiking out of her skin, it was less than successful.    
There was a moment before she hesitatingly offered a hand to Angus and another hesitation before he took it, but both of them relaxed after he did.    
  
As they walked the half block to the gelato stand that Angus had been so insistent they visit, Lup carefully summarized their conversation as neutrally for Barry as she could, keeping the tightening knot of tension in her stomach out of her voice.    
  
Angus didn’t interject beyond nodding agreement.    
  
As they went inside, Lup peeled off to find a booth, and Angus leaned against Barry as he scanned the menu.

Barry put an arm around Angus' shoulders and looked at the flavors.    
  
"That nutella sounds good, huh? Or maybe the caramel?"   
  
He glanced down, trying to gauge how Angus was feeling. He wasn't entirely sure but it did seem maybe a little better.   
  
"Or the cookies and creme. I might get that." Pause. "You okay, bud?"

“I want the green tea,” Angus lifted and lowered the shoulder Barry’s hand was resting on, still focusing on the menu.    
“M’fine. Just wish Taako hadn’t told her...”

"I get that. Telling someone something and you think it's secret and then they tell, that's not great. But... at the same time, we're all responsible for you, bud, and that means we're supposed to make sure you're safe but also that you're... comfortable? That you feel like you can talk to us about shit. Even if that shit is your brother.  _ Especially _ if that shit is your brother, actually. What he's doing, that's not cool. And you shouldn't ever have to think that either of us are gonna pick one of you over the other. We're a family."   
  
Then Barry frowned a little and looked back up at the menu, "Did uh... did your mom say what flavor she wanted, because if she did, I absolutely missed it. Maybe I'll just get her the nutella."

Angus leaned harder into Barry’s side, before giving his order.    
  
Lup did perk up at the sight of the bowl Barry handed to her and sent him a wave of relieved appreciation. After sighing through her first bite, she pointed her spoon at Angus,    
  
“Alright, lil man, what list of behaviors do you have down for this hypothesis?  _ Not _ that I’m saying you’re wrong; the fact you think so means I fucked up somewhere.” She dug into her gelato and took a bite, watching him.    
  
Angus squirmed and delayed by practically inhaling a bite of his gelato. Lup stayed implacably silent until he sighed,    
  
“You guys just.... just split us up that way, and- and I think it was because Dad Discovered me first, and Keats was weird around him sometimes because of Edward,” he wrinkled his nose and Lup echoed the gesture. He managed a small smile before looking down.    
“... but you and Keats talk Elvish all the time and sometimes it’s too fast for me to follow and when I started getting good at  _ that _ you both started practicing French and THEN you talk German with Dad all the time and you bake with Keats and- and when he gets upset with stuff  _ you’re _ always taking him out to the woods and I’m- I’m supposed to be okay when he fucks up- ...no. That one’s not true....” he looked down as Lup’s mouth opened to protest the last. “It just- I just  _ feel _ like it is....

Lup shut her mouth slowly, ears easing down from their startled position.    
“....you’ve been sitting on that one a while, huh?”    
  
Angus nodded, poking at his gelato. Lup set her chin in her hand and frowned into the middle distance, ears pinned back as she swirled her swiftly melting dessert.    
  
“Okay so....so I’m going to work this out in pieces, Ango, right?” He nodded, looking at his bowl. Lup held up her fingers pinching forefinger and thumb together,    
“You hate telling Keats when he fucks up because inadvertently his feelings become your responsibility, have I got that right?”    
  
Angus hesitated, then nodded again.   
  
Lup pinched middle and thumb together, “he fucked your friendship up and you only felt safe telling Taako because you didn’t want the fallout from everyone else’s emotions....” she pinched ring finger and thumb together, “....because you suspected I’d take  _ his _ side, because I have a tendency to leave you out of most things and focus on Keats, did I catch all that?”    
  
Angus poked his gelato and took a bite, nodding again.    
  
Lup scraped her spoon along her cup, ears tilted back.    
  
“.......Well fuck me running.”

Barry exhaled slowly, setting his spoon down. That was... a lot. And maybe Angus wasn't entirely wrong? Taking off his glasses, Barry stared at them for a long moment. Then he sighed.   
  
"Yeah... we definitely fucked up on this one. We never should never have fallen into the habit of splitting you up like that and... and I know I've definitely..." He set his glasses down and rubbed his temples. "In a lot of ways, you're a lot more mature than him so I could make sure he was alright first and most of the time you handled things yourself. And I guess... that's a pretty shitty excuse, you know? But it's what I was thinking. And I was wrong and I'm sorry, bud."   
  
Putting his glasses back on, he looked across the table at Lup and then at Angus again.   
  
"Alright, seems to me like we've got a problem. How do we solve it?"

Angus had slid down in his seat so that his face could only be seen from the nose up, completely focused on his bowl. He muttered something that might have been; “sfine....”   
  
Lup poked him with her foot under the table,    
“C’mon, Ango, if you were going to bullshit  us, you  _ really _ should have started earlier.”    
  
He rolled his eyes but slowly scooted back into an upright position, still not meeting either of their gazes.    
“I’unno.”    
  
Tucking her chin in her hand, Lup gave him a narrow eyed look over.

“Any preference on which part we brainstorm solutions for first then?”    
  
Angus gave her a small grin, “that’s your  _ work _ voice, Mom.”

Barry chuckled at that quietly and hugged Angus around the shoulders.   
  
“Damn right, bud. Now let’s see... I think I need to talk to Keats. I’d thought he’d figured out how to apologize but...” He shrugged. “I’ll talk to him about that later. But I want to make sure you and Keats can be friends again.  _ And _ make sure that June can come over again.”   
  
He stopped for a second, taking a bite of his gelato while he thought.   
  
“And make sure you’re not putting too much on yourself. It’s not your job to keep Keats from being upset. It’s your job to be a kid. And if you’ve got a problem, you need to be able to come to either of us about it. And I want to make sure that’s true or we’ve fucked up pretty bad as parents. So how do we fix that?”

Angus glanced up at him, forehead furrowed slightly,   
“Of course we’re friends, I just don’t always  _ like _ him very much.”   
  
Lup choked on her spoon and had to spend a few seconds coughing into a napkin.    
  
“-Fuck, okay. Yeah, that there’s a mood. Right,” she tilted her head at Barry, still keeping her eyes on Angus, “-would us talking to June’s dad help? Even if we.... moved schedules around so Keats  _ isn’t _ in the house for a while?”    
  
Angus brightened considerably and nodded, “I think so...he told me to, uhm, he told me to let you know....” he trailed off, a little embarrassed.    
  
Lup waved a hand, “alright, I’ll call him when we get home. Now as to the other thing-“ she tapped her spoon against the table. “I’ve been leaving you out of shit and I shouldn’t be. For real, lil man, I need your help on this one.”    
  
Angus hesitated, leaning harder against Barry and focusing on the tabletop.    
  
“Can- ....could you take me on the boundary walks?”    
  
Lup’s ears flicked up high and her eyes went wide, “yes abso _ lutely _ I can do that deffo for sure-“

Huh, Barry hadn't considered that. He was an only child and somehow it had never occurred to him that you could be friends with someone and just not like them sometimes. Then again, he thought about seeing Lup and Taako arguing sometimes, or the arguments he'd witnessed between Edward and Lydia. It made sense now that he was thinking about it. It just wasn't second nature to think like that.   
  
He tapped one finger against the side of his glasses and then frowned. "I also think we need to talk to Keats about a few things. We uh... definitely focused on the big shit getting him caught up and I... I definitely think there's still some ideas he's got that aren't great." He looked a little embarrassed. "Heck, I keep finding stuff  _ I've _ still got wrong."

Lup shrugged, “And we’re never going to stop finding that, babe, that’s just  _ life _ and shit.” She tilted her head at Angus, who had refound his appetite and was scraping his bowl. “You have any specific things you want us to focus on with Keats?”    
  
Angus wrinkled his nose and pushed his empty bowl away, “He keeps acting like he has to make it up to me somehow and I hafta keep saying ‘go away’ or ‘it’s fine’ until he stops trying.”   
  
“Well first off, delete ‘it’s fine’ from your vocab,” Lup wrinkled her nose and shot a sideways look at Barry, “- that one, uh, that one sounds learned...”

Barry closed his eyes and rubbed his temples. Then he sighed.   
  
"I tried to explain that... Yeah, it's learned alright. I'm pretty sure Edward was allergic to the words 'I'm sorry' and basically, any time he pissed anyone off, his solution was expensive presents and just never talking about it. I tried to explain that that's not  _ great _ and that, you know, you have to mean it and try to do better and all that. But I guess only half of it got through. I can try again."

Lup nodded, “tell him you don’t need anything but space for now, Ango... _ that is _ if you need to; I don’t think that line works in laser tag,” she gave him a grin that he returned, the last tension running out of his shoulders.    
  
Reaching over to ruffle his hair, Lup’s grin turned more fond, “-this ends our first annual parental review, I guess. Think we should start doing it monthly instead?”

Barry laughed but then he looked contemplative. "You know, babe, that might not be a half bad idea. But next time, let's do it at home and with both kids."   
  
Then he hugged Angus tightly.    
  
"I know you didn't wanna talk about all of this, but I'm proud of you for not just bullshitting us to make it go away." Then he stretched and reached for his gelato to finish it off. "As an aside, bud, you should definitely talk to Savannah and make sure you two are on the same team because otherwise Keats has got a real unfair advantage at laser tag. Just saying."

Angus grinned wickedly as he scooted out of the booth. As they headed out and Lup was watching her Lyft app, she reached out to rest her arm around Angus’s shoulders. He leaned into the contact, humming softly, and they drifted behind Barry.    
  
“[As for the  _ other _ point thou didst raise,]” Lup murmured, just low enough that Barry couldn’t hear, “[if thy time in our household is so much shorter than your brother’s,  then it is all the more precious.]”    
  
Angus gulped and reached up to squeeze her hand, nodding, “[Yes, Mom.]”


	13. And Finally, Ghost Sex

When they got back to the hotel, Keats and Savannah were waiting for them in the plush oversized chairs in the front room. Keats was reclined, skimming through something on his phone. Savannah had her own phone in her hand and a slight frown on her face, her tail flicking back and forth with annoyance.    
  
“Are you  _ sure?” _   
  
Keats’ ears flicked back.   
  
“I should be fine. I did research and everything. Promise. It’s not even like they sound like guns. They make pew pew noises, sweetheart. Like... like... Buck Rogers or Flash Gordon or something.”   
  
She set her phone down and leaned against him. That was when she spotted the rest of his family walking in the door.   
  
“Have fun being a spy, monster?” She grinned brightly at Angus. “Did you save the world?”

Angus slid off his shoes and flopped on the big, overstuffed chair, grinning.    
  
“ _ Yeah _ , and we got a prize for beating the best time because I had my own lockpicks and we didn’t have to look for the hidden ones in a drop location!”

Lup snorted, “I thought that one lady was going to have a conniption fit when you didn’t  _ follow the logical steps _ ....”

Keats laughed at that and held out his hand for a high five.   
  
"Awesome job, [little brother.] Ready to hit the arcade?"   
  
Barry grinned at Lup and then paused, pulling out his wallet.    
  
"Hey Lup, how expensive are arcades these days?"

Lup’s ears flicked back in some consternation, “uhhhh, hells, fuck if I know-“   
  
“Two dollars for each of the big games, fifty cents for skeeball, and ten dollars for food,” Angus counted these off on his fingers and grinned at Barry.

"Two dollars for a game?" Barry's eyes went wide and then he handed each of the kids a twenty. "Use that for games. Keats, have you still-?"   
  
"Don't worry, Dad, I've still got money from earlier. It's not like you can pay for a Lyft with cash."   
  
Savannah stood. "Thanks, Mr Bluejeans. Come on, the Lyft should be here soon." She grabbed Keats by the hand as she headed for the door.

Angus and Lup shared a Look  ™ and she waved lazily as he ran out ahead of both the older kids.    
Casually, Lup wandered over to the now abandoned couch and flopped into it, face first and let out a long drawn out yell of frustration.

Barry looked surprised but then he went and sat beside her, rubbing her back.    
  
"Well... In the grand scheme of things, I think we handled that pretty alright. Or at least not as bad as it could've gone?"

“Y’h, ‘oo whr gr’t.” Lup relaxed slightly at the touch, but didn’t lift her face from the pillow.

"Didn't quite catch that, babe." He shifted a little, moving to rub her shoulders.

She shifted her head enough to free her mouth and held up a finger,    
  
“ _ One _ meltdown. Just the one, I’m allowing myself, I’ll be done in a minute....”   
  
Her hand flopped to the floor as Barry’s thumbs made circles under her shoulder blades.

He didn't quite know what to say to that so he just kept rubbing her shoulders and trying to do his best to help. Then he leaned down to kiss her cheek.   
  
"Remember what we talked about before? With this whole parenting thing? We're gonna make mistakes. And that's... that's alright. They're both alright and we're gonna get through this, right?"

“I  _ know _ but it’s all fuckin-“ Lup waved her hand vaguely, “-all the fuckups, coming out in force, right now, on top of  _ me _ .”    
  
She paused, ears pinned back. “ _ Gods _ , that sounded bitchy.”

"You're allowed to complain, Lup. You're more than allowed to sound a little bitchy if it makes you feel better."   
  
He ran a gentle finger along her ear.   
  
"Let me know when uh... when you're up for the surprise I've got planned for tonight. I need a little time to set some stuff up though."

Lup’s ear twitched under Barry’s finger and she turned her head enough to side eye him.    
  
“.... _ what _ surprise?”    
  
Her inclination to shower and crawl into bed was suddenly side tracked by the low simmering of smug excitement at the edges of their bond.

Barry grinned slowly and got up.    
  
"A real good surprise, babe. You're gonna love it. But uh... You know, setting up."   
  
Going to his suitcase, he dug through it until he pulled out an insulated bag of the style he used to transport his harness batteries and started taking out small metal hemispherical objects that hummed with his magic.

Lup got up and padded behind him, ears flicking forward in interest, emotional meltdown derailed and forgotten.    
  
“Baaaabe, what are those and  _ when _ have you been doing magical research shit with _ out _ me?”

"Oh, you know... I was working on some stuff with Noelle. Just a little surprise for you. And don't worry, we tested the  _ shit _ out of it. Completely safe."   
  
He moved around the room, walking a circle and placing each hemisphere in a corner and pushing a button on the top. As they came to life, a ward slowly formed around the room that felt like home. He put the fifth as close to the center of the room as he could get and turned it on last.   
  
"Tada! It's got... let's see... dirt from the yard, on the boundary lines even, all shoved into one of Noelle's gizmos along with some of the nails from my father's workbench. The spelled ones. Wanna see what it does?"

Lup crouched to peer closer at the tiny device, ears up straight in curiosity as she carefully prodded at the ward magically. It felt so much like  _ Home _ for a brief moment she half expected to hear Tess yelling in the next room and smell the garden drifting in on a breeze through the window.    
  
“Holy  _ fuck _ , babe, this is-“ she suddenly glanced up at him, tensing. “.......okay, so it- you’re safe to take off your harness, soooooo....?”

"Remember how we talked about maybe... doing a little science sometime?"   
  
He said it casually, unbuttoning his shirt as he did. He would have clothes again when he took his harness off, of course, but he liked these clothes, dammit. And he was going to keep them.   
  
"I brought the journal too. It's in my bag, you know, if you wanna take notes." He ended that with a wink, tossing his shirt on the floor.

“ _ Oh- _ ” Lup managed to sound almost casual and was very proud of it, even if the way her ears had dipped and flared out gave the whole game away. “ _ That _ sort of surprise.”    
  
Calmly. Casually. Very casually, everything was  _ casual _ , she walked to Barry’s bag and dug around until she found the red leather bound journal they used for their  _ personal _ notes on how he interacted with the material plane.    
  
Tossing it on the bed, she pulled her shirt off and dropped it onto his,    
“....so...  _ which _ experiment was this one?”

Barry let his jeans drop to the floor and his boxers followed a moment later. Then he took a breath. Even knowing that the anchoring array would work, he was nervous.    
  
"I set up a few. They're the last ones in there."   
  
Then he unhooked his harness and let it drop to the floor. It bounced harmlessly on the carpet and he closed his eyes for a moment. Then he smiled, feeling safe and sound.    
  
_ "Step one: prove that I can safely be spooky." _

“Yeah that’s uhhhhhhh pretty big one, babe,” Lup watched him for a moment longer before she relaxed with him and pulled her pants off.    
  
Hopping up on the bed, she opened the journal to the most recently written in pages and scanned them.    
  
“Hhhhhhhuh...that’s....  _ three _ different jokes about staying hard,” she looked up at him and wiped away a fake tear. “I love you... _ so _ much, Barold J Bluejeans.”

_ "Listen, that's a... a very important part of this experiment." _   
  
He followed her to the bed, carefully floating so he was sitting just above the blankets. Then he leaned in so he could see the notebook. Then he ticked things off on his fingers.   
  
_ "So, I don't actually know how well I can stay solid. I don't know if I can get a condom on or if it's just gonna like... fall through me. And I don't know how uh... functional... everything is when I'm spooky. So, lots of science." _

Lup paused and stared into the middle distance for a moment before snorting into giggles,    
“What if it just  _ floats- _ ”    
  
Picking up the pen, she wrote in the margin of the page with lots of question marks and a descriptive picture.

Barry snorted a laugh, the sound hanging in the air in the almost echoing way his voice did when he was incorporeal.   
  
_ "Bonus points if it like... stays visible when I go invisible. So it's just a condom bobbing in the air... Gives whole new meaning to the ghost of Candlenights yet to come." _

The echoes of Barry’s voice hung in the air for what felt like an age before Lup choked and collapsed back on the bed, cackling.    
  
“Oh-  _ oh _ my  _ good fucking gods _ ....” wheezing, she rubbed her palm against her face, wiping away real actual tears this time.    
  
“Shit, I love you,” pushing herself back up, Lup extended a hand and ran it along the edge of Barry’s shoulders, humming at the extra charged carbonation feel of the magic making up his form.    
  
“Come on, babe, how solid  _ can _ you get?”

Barry focused, his form solidifying fairly well but it was hard to say how well he would be able to sustain it. That was always the hard part. Turning, he kissed her cheek.   
  
_ "Pretty solid. It just takes a lot." _

Lup couldn’t help the squeaking noise she made when Barry’s shoulder hardened under her hand. Usually this was something to be rushed through, get his harness on and buckled before he lost concentration.    
  
_ Now _ though...  _ now _ she could take her time and explore the body he made for himself out of his own power; no harness straps in the way and bending his magic into submissive lines.    
  
His magic liked hers of course; she could feel it reaching out to twine in familiar patterns under her skin as she ran her hand along Barry’s shoulders and slotted herself against him. He was  _ cold _ and his magic gave the impression of limbs falling asleep, and yet... it wasn’t unpleasant.    
  
Lup leaned forward and kissed the edge of his mouth and felt her face tingle like there was a thunderstorm gathering.

Barry ran his fingers through her hair, laughing a little as the static of him made it cling to his skin. It felt so  _ odd _ being like this, physical but not. It was almost unreal. He kissed her gently and was surprised when his power reserves seemed to grow, his magic calling to hers with every touch.    
  
_ "Huh... That sure is a thing." _ He looked momentarily nervous.  _ "Everything okay for you still?" _

Lup blinked and traced her finger down the back of Barry’s neck, feeling the faintest bit of a pull. Following the sensation brought her to the anchored spots where Barry had tangled their magic together two years ago, and his power was drawing hers into itself.    
  
“Hhhhhuh.... yeah, I’m fine, s’not like I’ve been working all day... I’ll just- just keep an eye on it, that’s all.”    
  
It didn’t hurt, and now that she knew what to look for it wasn’t as though he was  _ sneaking _ it out of her.    
Slowly Lup spread her palm at the base of Barry’s skull and pulled him in for a deeper kiss.

Barry closed his eyes, returning that kiss. He started to shift his weight, meaning to move so he could straddle her. Then suddenly, he felt  _ hot _ and opened his eyes, blinking rapidly. He was confused and disoriented and not looking at Lup? Turning to look around, panic started to rise in him. He didn't see her anywhere. Had something gone wrong?   
  
_ Lup? _

It was the weirdest sensation Lup could ever remember experiencing. One moment she was leaning back, feeling Barry start to shift on top and then-    
  
It felt like ice water was pouring down her throat and spreading out along her veins before rising to wrap her limbs in a buzzing sheath or- or exoskeleton.    
  
Her eyes opened and blinked and she hadn’t done that.    
  
_ Barry.....? Where- _

_ Don't know? _   
  
He went to adjust his glasses out of nervous habit and nearly jumped when he realized he wasn't wearing them. Even his spectral form had glasses. He could barely see without them... and yet he could see the entire hotel room clearly. And then his hand brushed against his ear and he realized that several assumptions he had made in that moment were very wrong. Not  _ his _ ear. Hers. Then he looked down.   
  
_ Oh holy shit. _

_Yeah no kidding, babe._   
  
Lup was trying to fight back the initial rising panic of her body _doing things_ without her _doing those things_. Focusing intently, she found the hooks she’d latched into Barry long ago and focus on moving his magic- familiar, loved, pliant to her touch- away from her arm.   
  
She twitched her pinky and felt some relief.   
  
_okay... okay, so this is new_

_ You're telling me... I don't even know how I did that. Or if I did? _   
  
He did his best to pull back his control, to let her have control of her body again. It was hard to tamp down his usual nervous habits. He was always moving, even sitting still he was moving his hands or tapping his feet. This... this was weird.   
  
_ I mean, it’s kind of neat and gives me some ideas, but also uh... also very surreal. Also, it's really hot. Uh... warm. _

The buzzing layer of cold seemed to pull away from her limbs, settling somewhere in her chest. Like Tess curling up and becoming her heaviest. Lup found she could open her mouth to laugh as her foot kept up a nervous staccato rhythm.    
  
“I’m  _ all _ about ideas, Bear, but man.... shit, we’re going to have to do this in the lab, and that means ‘fessing up at some point.”    
  
Talking to the open air made Lup feel a bit self conscious, but it felt better than trying to keep communicating in the tangle of words and images and feelings that was the internal dialogue they had going.    
  
“I hope you can  _ undo _ it too. Not sure I can get through this summer without my human sized ice pack.”

Barry snorted in her mind and focused on curling his own power as tightly as he could and separating it from hers as much as it ever was. Then he focused on the spot at the foot of the bed and trusted to fifty years of instinct. A moment later, the heavy cold feeling was gone and Barry reappeared at the foot of the bed.   
  
_ "Good news. I can do that." _   
  
Then he moved closer, curiosity alit in his eyes.   
  
_ "Wanna try that again, but with more of a plan?" _

“Fuck yeah, just let me-“ Lup scooted back across the bed, propping herself up against their mound of pillows and beckoned to him,    
  
“Gotta try it all the same way, babe,  _ consistency _ ~”    
Grinning, she reached out to run her hands along the curve of his semi-transparent cheek.

He leaned into her touch, focusing once more to keep himself solid and outside her skin. Then he leaned forward and kissed her lightly, electricity jumping between them. Static hummed along him and through him.    
  
_ ”Ready?” _

Instead of answering, Lup closed the distance between them, taking this moment to explore the sensation against her lips and face and fingertips.    
  
The moment before cold poured into her again, it was like pressing against electrified snowflakes, a current dancing along her mouth and arm, pricking but not hurting.

It was just as disorienting the second time and Barry took a moment to just focus on feeling the differences. It was hot enough that he felt like he was burning up at first, his magical essence unused to warmth. Then he pulled himself tight and made sure she still had control for now.   
  
_ Can I get a color, Lup? _

Lup inhaled and exhaled slowly. As she stretched out her fingers and legs her breath curled into a cloud in front of her face, getting a startled giggle. Reaching out her magic was interesting; it wanted to burst out almost, buoyed up by Barry’s. Threading it through their silence charm, she nodded slowly.    
  
“Green... yeah, green. I don’t think you’re siphoning my power off?”    
  
She had the feeling of him hearing her words right before she spoke them, but talking out loud still felt better.    
  
“Just don’t try to take over my lungs or anything, I guess.”

Barry slid his own power down through her arms, exploring the feel of being inside her skin. It was odd but not unpleasant. His focus stayed there for now, settling in.   
  
_ So here's what I was thinking, Lup. What if I touch you but like... with your hands? You get control of everything else. How does that sound to you? _

If Barry thought it was warm  _ before _ , the burst of heat that rolled through Lup at his words felt like fire.    
  
“Yeah- ....uh, y-yeah, cool... coolcoolcool, sounds fine.”    
  
She settled further into the pillows, pulling her own power into a tight ball with the sensation of giving Barry... room? Feeling him as a distinct being in her own body was an  _ odd _ almost dissociative feeling.

_ This is some... some really weird shit, so I'm gonna check in more than usual. Cool? _   
  
He raised one of her hands, starting just by making sure he had alright control.

“Yeah, I’m good...I’ll call yellow for anything too weird and I need a break, babe...”   
  
Lup watched her own hand raise with fascination. She could  _ feel _ it moving and could almost imagine her mind pretending to move along with it, but it was flexing in the way  _ Barry _ flexed his hands, learned from his piano teacher mother rather than Lup’s way for shaking the feeling of used magic out of her fingers.    
  
“How  _ you _ doing, Bear?”

_ I won't lie, it's a little weird to think about? So I'm just sort of uh... not thinking? But uh... yeah, green here too. If it's anything else, I'll probably just jump out. _   
  
He started slow, wanting to make sure this was something they both enjoyed and not something they would later regret. He guided her hand up, skimming her fingers lightly over her stomach as they pushed her shirt up.   
  
_ You know what's funny? If anyone walked in right now, they'd think you were just having a great time all on your own. _

She snorted, ears flicked forward in interest, “The talking to myself  _ might _ make it a little off...”    
  
Her hands were longer and thinner than Barry’s, covered in small white scars and old burn marks. The sensation of them moving up her own body was....interesting.    
  
“Hmmm, for the notebook; deduct one point for no kissing.”

_ The lack of kissing is fucking tragic, yeah. But this is definitely an uh... an interesting experiment. _   
  
Barry found that the sensation of feeling through her skin was very different from his own. Not to say that his harness-induced physical body didn't have a sense of touch or that it was less sensitive, just that it was different. Their hands were both scarred and callused but in different ways from different things. There was also the heat. He was going to be cold later and he didn't regret it in the slightest. That's what showers and pajamas with feet were for.

Her shirt and bra were off and she grinned down at her hands cupping her boobs,    
  
“ _ Yes _ , babe, that’s about how sensitive they are.”   
  
And that was an interesting thought too, him feeling what she did. Another flare of anticipation shot through her as her mind raced to familiar paths his hands always took-

_ You'd like that, wouldn't you~ _ he teased.  _ Not yet. Gotta be thorough with this if we're gonna call it science, babe. _   
  
He realized he could anticipate her, realize what she was expecting. He grinned, trying to pull his thoughts back and separate from hers. Maybe he could make things a bit more of a surprise.

“Ass,” the grin that spread across Lup’s face was both of them at the same time, even as she felt Barry step back and pull in.    
“Face it, babe, you wanna know how sensitive the ears are from  _ this _ side,” briefly, she pushed against his control of her arms, trying to direct her hands to brush against her cheeks and along her ears into her hair.

_ Alright, you're in no way wrong. _   
  
He raised her hands, running gentle fingers along both of her ears at once. That was about when he realized that he could also feel her heart beating and a rush of excitement shot through him.

Lup closed her eyes against the sensation, breathing a soft sigh. The burst of excited feeling from Barry’s side of the bond had her giggling briefly as he ran her thumbs across the tips of her ears.    
  
“So who’s,  _ hmm _ , who’s getting worked up here?”

_ Hey now, babe. We both know the answer to that is both of us. _   
  
He was startled by the darkness. He hadn't entirely processed somehow that her closing her eyes meant he couldn't see. With that thought going through his mind, he tugged on her ear and let her other hand drop back to her chest.   
  
_ As an aside, I can't see what I'm doing anymore. Thought you should know. _

“It’s  _ equality _ ,” she couldn’t help giggling on the last word, but she did open her eyes again. Leaning into the hand on her ear, she watched her free hand with hooded eyes.    
  
“New chapter in the journal; blindfolds. Yes or no, babe?”    
  
Her hand was tracing lazy circles around her chest and drifting ever downwards.

Gentle fingers brushed against her clit then and he gave her ear another gentle tug. The heat swirling through both of them was rising still and he was sinking down into it, enjoying that warmth.    
  
_ Blindfolds sound good to me, yeah. You? _

Lup closed her eyes again, humming at the soft touches.    
  
“For sure...”    
  
The feedback loop between them was subtle, and Lup didn’t want to focus on it too much in case it got overwhelming; but the sensation of both of them feeling and feeling the  _ other _ feeling was slowly building on their pleasure and it was.... intense.

Barry hummed softly in agreement. It really was indescribable, a fact he knew he absolutely could not jot down in their journal later. All of the words popping into his head to describe the ever growing, swirling heat that surged through them both were very exceptionally unscientific. And not particularly helpful just as words either.

Lup let out another quiet noise as Barry moved her fingers along her ear and clit at the same time. The movements were gentle compared to the inner sensations; almost feeling like they were in a river of their own making.    
  
“Babe.... Barry-  _ fuck _ ....I can’t-“    
  
Words were failing her, all she could feel was desperate  _ wanting _ , not to come but for him closer _ physical _ more _ here _ .

_ Want me to grab my harness? _   
  
Barry was practically vibrating with raw sensation. Every point of contact was blazing with heat and he had the distinct feeling that he would still be aflame when he went back to his own physical form. If he was right, they would absolutely need to remember this.

The memory of electrified snow, of Barry’s distinctive magical form pressing against her flashed through Lup’s mind and she tried to articulate, though her mouth wouldn’t work.    
  
_ Please? _

Barry focused for a moment and then slide back out rather than just popping across the room. He pressed a gentle kiss to her lips, brushing spectral fingers over her cheek. As he'd suspected, even in his form, the warmth was still coursing through him. It wouldn't last long and it was hard to say if it would still be there by the time he got his harness on. But for now, he was warm.  
  
_ "I'll be right back." _

Lup pressed against the feeling, brief as it was. For a moment she felt his magic sliding along hers, possessive and loving, and then he was gone across the room.

Barry lifted his harness and carefully slipped it back over his shoulders, taking a moment to make sure it was settled right before securing the straps. Then he turned to climb back into the over large bed. The last traces of that heat left his skin as he lay in front of her, resting his head against her leg.    
  
"Better?"

Lup bent forward, cupping his face in her hands as she nuzzled him before catching his mouth in a kiss.   
  
_”Much.”_   
  
Her thumb traced along Barry’s jaw line and down his neck to rub circles at his shoulders.   
  
“Good for science but I like you _here_ better...”

Barry pushed himself up and then wrapped his arms around her, returning that kiss. He held her close and ran his hands over her back.   
  
"Definitely need to make a note on that one. Good experiment. Maybe useful for  _ something. _ Overwhelming. But also? I got  _ warm, _ babe."   
  
He smiled a little then, head tilted to one side.   
  
"Of course, it's already gone, so maybe not the most uh... efficient system?"

“Nah, need a hot tub for  _ efficiency _ ,” Lup nuzzled into Barry’s neck, sprawling on top of him with a contented sigh. Feeling his impressions of her body heat had been making her feel almost feverish.    
  
His lukewarm body felt good against her skin and-    
She moved her leg and her still hard clit rubbed along his belly and she grinned against his shoulder.

Barry grinned at that and reached down, cupping her ass with both hands. There was a little bit of a laugh in his voice when he spoke, and just a hint of teasing.   
  
"Wanna ride my cock, babe?"

Lup stretched out, feeling Barry’s magic staticky clinging to hers, humming happily. No matter how twined together they got, even sharing the same body, apparently, it was always very easy to tell the difference between  _ mine _ and  _ yours _ .    
  
Even when one power was calling out  _ mine _ so the other responded  _ yours _ .    
  
“Love that idea, super on board with it, I left the stuff in that nightstand so we wouldn’t have to go digging the rest of the week.”

Barry bummed quietly and then pressed a kiss to her forehead. He reached vaguely towards the nightstand, not putting any magic behind it. He just reached blindly, not even looking like he was trying.   
  
“Too far. Comfy.”

Snorting, Lup lay flat across his shoulders, being Heavy.    
  
“I  _ guess _ I could move.....”    
  
She rolled slightly to the side, reaching out and just barely snagging the drawer handle enough to pull it out an inch.

Barry laughed and slid his arm around her waist. Then he actually gave the drawer a nudge with his magic, pushing it the rest of the way open.    
  
"Better?"

“Almost...... _ got it! _ ”   
Lup snagged the box and bottle and dropped them on the bed.    
  
“I don’t have to MOVE much, do I?”

Barry chuckled quietly.    
  
“Feeling lazy?”   
  
He pulled her into a kiss and then flipped them so he was on top.   
  
“Because I can always uh... I can take charge, if that’s more your speed. I’m... very awake all of a sudden.”

“Like you haven’t been in charge this whole time?” Lup stretched out under him, a soft purr stuttering to life in her throat.    
  
Hitching one leg up around Barry’s hip, she cupped his cheek and looked up him through hooded eyes.    
  
“Which is  _ very _ much my speed tonight, I’m being honest.”

"Oh huh... fair point."   
  
There was more than a bit of a laugh in his tone and he reached for the box of gloves and the bottle of lube. Gloves on and fingers slicked, he leaned down to kiss her again.   
  
"Ready?"

“Mmmmmhm....” she tilted her hips more towards him, eyes fluttering shut as Barry kissed her.    
  
“Green on all panels, babe...”

His eyes were on her face as he slid a finger into her and there was a tender smile on his face.   
  
“Gods, you’re beautiful. So damn perfect, you know that?”

Lup blinked up at him and couldn’t help her returning smile being  _ shy _ .    
  
“Can’t hardly help it for how often you say so, babe.”    
  
She closed her eyes again at the sensation, giving a long sigh of contentment.

“It’s the law. I have to keep telling you all kinds of things that are true.”   
  
He pressed another kiss to her neck and then gently nipped the same spot.   
  
“Love you so much.” He added a second finger as he said it, his voice low and filled with emotion.

“ _Gods_ , I-“   
  
Lup let out a shuddering breath and tilted her neck back further. Someday she was going to have to figure out with words how much Barry and Barry being _himself_ and Barry loving _her_ meant, and in more that gasping fricatives while he was blowing her mind, beautiful man.   
  
As it was, she sent wave after wave of _trustTRUSTlove_ yours _trust-_   
  
“You’re- you’re so fuckin’ good, babe...”

With a little smile, he picked up the speed, thrusting harder into her. His lips were still against her throat and he flicked his tongue over the little red mark where he'd bitten her.    
  
"Three or four tonight, Lup?"

Lup whined, the knee hooked around Barry’s waist tightening.   
  
“ _ Shitfuck-! _ Th-three, babe please, I want-“    
  
Maybe it was an after effect from the possession, maybe Barry’s magic was still worked up even with the harness, but his power fizzed along and sank under her skin everywhere they touched. And it was so  _ very _ hard not to fuck herself back on his fingers already.

"As you wish~"   
  
He added a third finger, working her open with intent and need now. He reached and grabbed a condom out of the box, trying to get it open with one hand. With some muttered curses, he tossed it lightly to Lup.   
  
"Get thing open for me, will you?"

It landed on her chest and Lup snorted something that didn’t turn into a groan by sheer force of will.    
  
“No floating ghost-  _ hah _ \- ghostly condoms tonight, babe?”    
  
However distracted she was (and Barry was being  _ very _ distracting) Lup managed the packet deftly, and tossed the condom back at him.

"You wanted harness on, you get harness on. Spooky condoms will wait for when we get home."   
  
He leaned in to kiss her once, smiled, and then kissed her a second time.   
  
"Maybe I'll order the uh... the glow in the dark ones just for that. It'll be great, right?"

“You’re the  _ worst _ , that’s a  _ terrible _ idea,” Lup threw an arm around Barry’s neck and pulled him closer so she could prolong the kiss to her satisfaction.    
“-and I  _ love _ you...”    
  
His fingers crooked inside her, Lup’s leg flexed against the mattress, and she panted against his cheek, trying not to cry out yet.

"Terrible or  _ amazing? _ Because I'm seriously leaning towards amazing."   
  
He pulled back then with one last kiss as a silent promise that he would only be a moment. And a moment later, he was.

Lup sat up to watch him, feeling empty and too light without his solid bulk above her.    
Her purr came back louder as she watched Barry slick himself and move towards her again.    
  
“....yeah... you’re  _ amazing _ ....”

Barry snorted a laugh. This right here. This was one of the many, so many, reasons he loved her. The way she could go from teasing (never cruelly, only lovingly) to turning it right around into a compliment, how she had a sense of humor no matter what they were doing. They could be like this, or at dinner, or doing chores together and it didn’t matter because she could always make him smile. Everything about being with her, living with her, loving her, made him happy, and happiness was something he would never squander.   
  
His hands were tight on her hips as he entered her, pulling her towards him.   
  
“Yeah well, takes one to know one.”

Anything Lup was about to retort flew out of her head and her purr went high and tight as her head went back. Catching her breath was an exercise in self control, actively having to inhale and exhale as she felt them adjust to each other.    
  
“ _ Fuck- _ ” her hand groped up, touching along Barry’s shoulder and latching onto one of his harness straps. “ _ Fuck _ that’s good, babe....”

"Always feel so  _ damn _ good."   
  
Each word was punctuated with another thrust and drag. He was moving slow for now, teasing her a bit before he built up to how they both liked it. Sometimes, he just needed to go slower, to really take his time worshipping her in every way he could and tonight was one of those nights.

Lup was whining through her purrs, feet pressing into the mattress for leverage. Her hand wrapped in his harness tugged lightly, craving Barry closer again.    
  
“Just- Just  _ perfect _ , fuck, babe.... babe,  _ please _ ...”

He leaned in, bracing himself on one arm, and kissed her deeply. He rocked his hips forward again, starting to pick up the pace a little.

"That what you want, babe?"

The hand on his harness strap tightened and Lup hooked a leg around his waist, still purring.    
  
“Mmm _ hm _ ....” She pressed sloppy kisses along his jaw, “Love you....”

"Love you too, Lup. Love you too."   
  
He let her pull him as close together as they could be, reveling in the feeling of her under him and around him. He reached between them, running his fingers over her clit.

Lup let out another whining purr, arching up against his hand. Burying her face against Barry’s shoulder, she panted out;    
  
“More? Please- please, babe...”  Tilting her hips against his as Barry snapped them forward, Lup keened softly.  “Don’t, don’t want gen- _ hah _ \- gentle,  _ please- _ ”

With one more long, slow kiss, he pulled back to give himself enough room to snap his hips forward harder and faster.   
  
"As- as you  _ wish~" _   
  
Somewhere along the way, Lup had made absolutely sure to sit Barry down and watch The Princess Bride with him. He'd laughed himself silly but the one thing that had stuck out to him the most was that phrase. He'd taken to using it from time to time, but mostly in the bedroom. Especially once he realized she liked him saying it.   
  
The hand on her hip gripped harder, needing the leverage as he wrapped his other hand around her clit, stroking as close to in time with his hard and fast thrusts as he could manage. If she wanted rough, then she would get rough.

With the harness strap out of reach once Barry sat up, Lup’s hands had nothing to grip, and she groped along above her until she could bury one hand in a pillow and the other in her hair.    
  
“Fuck yes  _ perfect _ babe feels- feels so- _ hah _ \- feels so good-“   
  
Her voice climbed the register and she yanked a fistful of hair, purr dropped to a barely there vibration as she got less and less coherent.

She was so beautiful like that, spread out under him with her head tilted back on waves of pleasure. It was a heady, intoxicating thing to know that she was reacting to him, that he was the one making her feel this good, and that they loved each other. He wanted to please her, he wanted to do everything for her. Already, his rhythm was stuttering and faltering as he came closer and closer to the edge, her name a ragged chant on his lips.

She was  _ so _ close now, just needed to catch one of those waves as Barry’s hand on her clit stroked up as he dragged back. Her hand slid from her hair to her ear and she swept a thumb along it, meeting Barry’s gaze with dark eyes. 

“ _ Fuckin’ _ gor-gorgeous, babe-“    
  
She dug her thumbnail into the line of her ear and keened as she spilled over her chest.

His hips snapped forward harder and he gasped, putting one hand out to brace himself before he fell forward. He was breathing hard, his whole body shaking, and he stammered soft praise, unable to quite get his words lined up.

Lup's purr came back in full force as she reached up to run a gentle hand through Barry's messy curls, "So good.....love you, babe, so good to me....."

Both of them were breathing too hard to kiss, but she pulled his face down till they could bump foreheads, making a small private space as they came down.


	14. Chapter 14

Keats pushed the door to the arcade open, looking around excitedly. Everywhere he looked there were lights flashing and machines buzzing and beeping and music blaring. Looking back over his shoulder, he grinned at Angus and Savannah.    
  
"Laser tag first?"

_ ”Yes!” _   
  
Angus pointed at the counter of cheap prizes, “and I’m going to earn a components box after.”    
  
Tugging Savannah’s sleeve, he grinned up at her, “Dad said we have to gang up on Keats ‘cause he can see in the dark.”

Savannah snorted and looked down at him as they walked towards the counter to check in. "You know I can too, right, Monster?" Then she leaned in and whispered in Infernal. "But if it looks like he's too good, I might just drop some magical darkness on his head and see what happens."   
  
Keats flicked his ears back and forth as he tried to listen even though he didn't know what Savannah was saying. "I hope you two are ready to go down. I was the best shot in my whole group in basic." He raised his hands, pretending to fire a bow. "Got that good old fashioned elven accuracy."

Angus giggled, then put on his best Innocent Child look as they reached the counter and the cashier started handing out gear.    
  
“Are kneecaps a legal target?”   
  
The cashier looked at him, looked at the two teenagers, then back at Angus,    
“Not  _ legally _ , no, the targets won’t register anything. Sorry, sweetie.” Since she was grinning, Angus let the ‘sweetie’ slide and beamed at Keats.

Keats paused for a moment, trying to figure out how to get the laser tag harness on over his spooky boy harness. Then he sighed and let Savannah move in to help him get it settled alright. He really hated things like this that reminded him he was different, even with the harness tucked under his clothes where it couldn't be seen. His ears were flicked back in visible discomfort.

Angus hardly noticed, already strapping his gear on and bouncing as they were handed their laser rifles and colored vests at the door.    
  
“There’s another party in there, but you’ve been sorted into equal teams, have fun!”    
  
Angus frowned at that and checked that all three of them were on the same team in that case.

As they proceeded down the hall, they were separated out by vest color and Savannah went left into the blue starting room while Angus and Keats were sent right into the red starting room. One of the employees, a young half-elf with short bright blue hair, noticed the three separating and stepped out.   
  
"You three want to be on the same team? I can adjust things, if you'd like."

Angus brightened up considerably, and nodded the affirmative, contriving to look younger than he was.    
Lup had mentioned he wouldn’t be able to get away with that act much longer and he was  _ determined _ to use it as much as possible.    
  
When Savannah’s vest had been swapped for red, he hunkered down between her and Keats, looking up at his big brother.    
  
“What’s the plan?”

Keats shrugged a little. "I dunno. As far as I could tell from their video, real tactics don't work in here? It's not like people stay down when you shoot them with the laser gun."   
  
Savannah looked around. The basic idea was sort of like capture the flag with each team having a base in the back. There was also a light fog piped in along the floor just to add a bit of ambiance along with excessive use of UV light. "Well, we want to get to their base, right? Shoot the crystal or whatever? So one of us should take point and the others cover."

Angus bounced, “Can I? Can I go first? I make a smaller target!”   
  
The light above the door dinged and it swung open. Without waiting for an answer, Angus darted out ahead of the team into the hallways.

Savannah and Keats exchanged a look and then ran after him, keeping their laser guns up and their senses alert. They'd realized in the moment after Angus had run that they would be able to see way better than he could in the dim light of the laser tag arena. And that meant they had to stay alert.

The hallways were a maze of neon lit junctures, just bright enough to make dark vision hard, and leveling the playing field.    
Their vests stood out under the black lights, clearly demarcating who was on what team, and Angus fired off a shot at a blue vested dwarf before ducking behind a panel and waving for Savannah and Keats enthusiastically.    
  
“The thing’s up there!”

Keats turned to his right, firing twice as he spotted a flash of blue movement. Savannah was watching the left and suddenly realized her vest was flashing.   
  
"Shit, behind us. I've gotta go recharge."   
  
And then Keats felt his vest vibrate just before it started to flash. There was a gnomish girl in a blue vest behind them, her eyes deadly serious and her gun focused on Angus now.

Angus turned at Savannah’s voice, but not in time to see the gnome girl or fire off an accurate shot.    
  
Huffing, he scowled annoyance at her, but followed after Keats.

“That was  _ fast _ ....”

"Yeah..." Keats glanced back, feeling distinctly odd about getting jumped by a little kid. He didn't like how the vest had vibrated, but it was alright. If he really didn't like it, he'd asked to leave. "Seems like next time we need a plan. I mean unless you  _ want _ to just be Magnus again."

“It worked right up until it  _ didn’t _ ,” Angus stuck out his tongue, still vibrating with unused energy.    
  
The timer above the door counted down, and he bounced on his toes, looking up at the two of them for more ideas.

Keats looked into the room, considering. "Split up, maybe? You two take point and I'll break off? At least we can't get snuck up on again that way?"   
  
Savannah nodded a little and adjusted her grip on the laser gun. "Anyone know if magic's against the rules?"

“‘No bright lights or noises louder than the guns. Any spells with intent to harm will result in a lifetime ban and law enforcement.’”    
Angus points at the small plaque next to the exit door, “I can put trackers on you both, then.”

Savannah nodded and then she grinned, red eyes reflecting the neon lights as she turned. "So... I  _ can _ manipulate the darkness, right? That's not a bright light."   
  
"Yeah, but would we be able to see through the darkness, sweetheart? I know last time you did that I couldn't."   
  
Savannah shrugged. "No? But would we need to if we know where they are when I drop it?"

Angus frowned slightly at that, “....As long as you didn’t leave it on too long maybe. Yeah, okay!”    
  
The timer counted off the last five seconds and Angus bounced on his toes, braids lifting slightly.

Savannah gave Angus a little push. "Lead on, monster. I'll be right with you."   
  
Keats took off in another direction, keeping them in his peripheral vision but staying enough off that if anyone else tried to ambush them, he'd see them first.

Angus rushed forward again, not terribly unlike Magnus tended to, and he could almost hear Taako’s scoffing at the back of his head.    
  
Well, this was  _ for fun _ anyway.    
  
He got off a shot that made the human boy in front of him look down at his blinking vest and sigh, before heading for the blocky stairs leading up to the blue goal.

Keats turned, spotting that same child as before moving up behind Angus and Savannah and got two shots off in rapid succession. With her vest flashing, he turned to the next target, automatically dropping to one knee and bracing his elbow on his knee to keep his aim steady. Another two shots, tap tap on the trigger, and another blue vest was flashing. And another. And then another. And then his vest vibrated and he blinked a few times, pulled out of the half-trance he'd dropped into. A human boy stood there with his gun held pointblank against Keats' back.    
  
"Cheater. You can't use that kind of aiming magic in here."   
  
Keats' ears flicked up in surprise and then immediately back in annoyance.   
  
"I wasn't doing  _ anything. _ I don't even  _ have _ magic."   
  
The other boy jabbed the barrel of his laser gun into Keats' back, shoving him forward.   
  
"Stupid lying knife ears. I know you were cheating."   
  
Keats only barely didn't punch him. Instead, he turned and grabbed the gun by the barrel, forcing it down and away from him and then walked past the other boy, headed towards the red starting area.

Angus had clambered up the last step, rolling to the side as a blue vested elf girl pointed her laser gun at him. She yelped in frustration as Savannah popped up behind him, and Angus grinned.    
  
Pushing himself to his knees, he fired three times at the goal and heard a triumphant chime from his vest.    
Whooping, he half ran half fell back down the stairs and towards where he’d last seen Keats.    
  
“You were  _ great! _ Didja see me?”

Savannah grinned at the elf girl and flashed her a thumbs up as Angus scored the win. "Surprise!" Then she turned to follow after him, looking for Keats.   
  
Keats had his ears flicked back and was walking back to the starting area. That other boy was following him though. "Don't walk away from me,  _ cheater." _

Angus blinked, scowled, and aimed his laser gun at the kid’s back. A couple taps and the human teen’s vest pinged, enough to get his attention.    
  
Angus pointed a finger up in his face, not stopping on his walk forward, “You  _ wish _ he was cheating! You’re just jealous he’s so much  _ better _ than you!”

The boy looked down at Angus, a sneer on his face.  
  
"Who are you supposed to be? Cheater need to get saved by a toddler now?"

Angus’s hands clenched into fists as he scowled up into the sneering face of this.... this  _ palooka _ thinking he could ruin their fun time?    
  


* * *

  
“Right, so you know how to throw a punch, Keats showed you that?” Lup demonstrated by making a fist, thumb tucked in the outside, and Angus nodded, copying her.    
  
“I hit with the first two knuckles and I don’t aim for hard parts of the body or I’m going to break my hand.”    
  
Lup grinned and nodded, “Yeah, and you kick for joints and that’ll bring a big dude to the ground most times. But here’s a little  _ extra _ just in case you need it...”    
  
Covering his fist with her hand, Lup brought her magic to the surface of her skin.   
  
“Feel that?”    
  
Angus nodded and frowned in concentration as he tried to copy her. Lup grinned more.   
  
“Yeah, you got it. Okay, so what you  _ do _ when you punch someone is you bring your magic up like that and, uhhhh... imagine it like a  _ disc _ comin’ out your knuckles, yeah?”    
  
It took a few tries, but once Angus had the shape of it in his head, he pulled it up to Lup’s nod.   
  
“Now, that’s the same thought as a punch; you’re not punching a dude’s stomach, you’re punching the wall  _ behind _ it. Always aim  _ past _ your target and you get a LOT more oomph going.”    
  
Angus punched the air and felt his magic expand past his fist in a rush of air and grinned.    
  


* * *

Dropping his laser gun, Angus brought his fists up and  _ pushed _ his magic ahead of his knuckles in a one-two punch that landed right below the boy’s solar plexus.

Savannah had been starting to roll up her sleeves and her eyes widened when she realized Angus had gotten there first. She raised her hand and the shadows around the two boys became thicker, darker. Then she scooped Angus up, moving around it. When she spoke, it was in quiet Abyssal. "[Good shot, monster, but let's get out of here before anyone thinks to throw us out or worse.]"   
  
Keats had heard the other boy address Angus, had heard the punch, and had turned thinking he was going to have to go break someone's face. Instead, he saw Savannah pushing Angus along away from a globe of darkness that filled the path behind them. "What? What happened?"   
  
Savannah grabbed his arm. "We're leaving, sweetheart."

The three of them hurried inconspicuously to the restaurant next to the arcade, finding a booth to share until enough of the crowd had cycled in and out that a specific face would be hard to find. Angus stopped monitoring the crowd when Keats’ knee started bouncing hard enough to shake the table. He turned an annoyed look on his older brother and said along with him; “I’m  _ hungry _ ,” before reaching for the menu sitting on the table, “You’re  _ always _ hungry.”

Keats only shrugged and tapped the strap of his harness under his shirt. “Let’s see you power one of these things without magic and see how much  _ you _ eat, huh?”

Angus considered this hypothetical with far more gravity than he knew his brother intended, 

“...I think everyone would get mad if I tried.” 

Their server appeared then; a smiling half elf woman with a rainbow bow tie. 

“What can I get y’all started on?”  


* * *

By the time the meal was over and Keats was something that at least resembled full, the server had set a check facedown on the table. Savannah reached for it despite Keats’ protests and flipped it over. Then all three of them went silent. Written across the bottom of the check it said  _ Paid in Full. Give my regards to Kravitz. _ Angus reached for it, eyes narrowed suspiciously. This only added another layer to the mystery.


	15. Chapter 15

Wednesday dawned bright and hot way too early in the morning. The Agenda spoke of family togetherness through brunch and then more splitting up lest they all murder one another.    
  
Lup stretched out in bed, almost brought to purring thinking of the suit that was hanging in the closet for that night’s dinner and rolled over to squirm back under Barry’s arm.    
  
“Cool idea, babe; not getting out of bed for thirty-six hours and let the schedule go fuck itself.”

Barry still had his eyes closed and he snuggled closer, pulling the blankets tighter over both of them, "Brilliant woman with the best ideas..." He half-mumbled the words, still most of the way asleep. "But I think Taako might mutiny if we stick him with the kids that long. I'm willing to risk it though. This is... nice."

“Mmmmhmmm...” Lup pushed her face against Barry’s shoulder and hummed herself into a soft purr.   
  
One minute and thirty-two seconds later, her phone buzzed to the tune of ‘Bringing Sexy Back’   
  
_-I have real clothes on and you should too, dingus_   
  
Lup squinted at her phone and groaned.   
  
“We have about ten more minutes before he’s done with his hair, so just-“   
  
There was a knocking on the door,  
“ _Mom_ , Dad, Uncle Taako said I’m quote, ‘supposed to be my most annoying self so we can eat’, unquote. Keats is _hungry_ and so am I!”

Barry groaned and opened his eyes slowly, groping blindly in the direction of the nightstand for his glasses.   
  
"Think we could just... not move any maybe they'll think we already left?"   
  
He said it half-heartedly, not really convinced it would work.   
  
"Come  _ on, _ I'm  _ hungry. _ And Uncle Kravitz said we couldn't go until you're  _ ready." _

“Muffle charm isn’t on, they can hear us,” Lup had rolled with him, doggedly pressing her face into Barry’s shoulder in an attempt to block out the world.    
  
There was a brief murmur behind the door, silence, and then the sound of clicking against the doorknob.    
  
Lup’s head and ears shot up,    
_ ”ANGUS!” _   
  
“Told you that would get them,” the door did not muffle the clear smug tone in his voice.    
  
Lup flopped off Barry and pulled herself off the massive quicksand of blankets and pillows that was the bed,    
“I’m going to use Taako’s gateway to nowhere spell on you I swear to  _ Pan-! _ ”    
  
“There’s coffee!” Angus chirped, unrepentant. Lup paused, mid grab for a bra;   
  
“....you live  _ this _ time.”

Barry's eyes were very wide as he scrambled out of the bed to find his clean clothes.   
  
"Angus McDonald, I swear, if you open that door before I find clean jeans, no new books for a week. Do you hear me?"

“Yes, sir,” Angus’s voice was moving away from the door, but Lup’s ears twitched at a last muttered; “-wasn’t  _ gonna _ ....”   
  
Five minutes later, Lup walked out towards the bathroom, spotting a lounging Taako in the kitchenette area, sipping Starbucks that Lup was almost  _ positive _ Kravitz had got for him. He waved cheerfully at her, a shit eating grin on his face, as the boys devoured a bag of bagels between them.    
  
Lup flipped him off, waved to Savannah, and took her  _ sweet _ time in the bathroom.    
  
When she came out, Kravitz was there, ignoring his own coffee in favor of frowning at his phone.    
  
“Hey Krav, thought you’d finished with that look.”   
  
Kravitz looked up at Lup almost guiltily and tucked his phone back into his pocket.   
  
“It’s nothing. Just something from work that required my attention for a moment. That should be the last of it...”

Taako eyed him, ears flicking down briefly before turning back to Lup and handing her a cup of her own.    
  
“This one has better mimosas, I checked. Now drink up and let’s get these kiddos fed.”    
  
Lup stuck her tongue out at him but accepted the coffee gratefully.

Keats looked up and said something utterly unintelligible through the bagel actively in his mouth. Then he swallowed and tried again.   
"Good, I'm starving."   
  
Savannah just looked at him and shook her head slowly.   
"I'm not convinced you're an elf. I'm starting to think you're a black hole masquerading as an elf."

Lup snorted into her coffee as Taako flicked his fingers at the last cup, indicating it was for Barry, who had just wandered out of the bedroom, hair still wet from a fast shower,  and got up, pulling out his phone.    
  
“Omelets wait for NO man, woman or black hole in an elf suit, come  _ on _ -“   
  
The café was fairly busy for a weekday, but Kravitz, apparently the best at adulting this day, had called ahead and there was a free table for their admittedly large group.    
  
It looked out into the botanical gardens, and a path led straight from the patio dining to a lovely water feature. The umbrellas for the tables shone with enough anti-bug charms that Angus sneezed several times after they sat down.    
  
Lup scanned the  _ very _ nice view and made a mental note to pick up some fallen leaves or petals or something to scatter on the yard when they got home.    
  
Angus was scowling at his menu, “do they only have crepes and no waffles?”

Barry leaned over to hug him around the shoulders. "Come on, bud. Give it a try. There's one with bananas and strawberries and chocolate. I bet you'd like that."   
  
Keats' eyes had lit up as he looked at the menu and his phone had come out to take notes on different kinds of crepes so he could experiment when they got home. Especially the savory ones or the ones with interesting sauces. He was quiet for a long time, going through the entire menu piece by piece. Finally, he looked up, ears flicked straight up.    
  
"Can I make crepes in a regular frying pan or do we need something special?"   
  
Taako took a long sip of his mimosa and then grinned.   
  
"Natch. It's like this..." And then he was off into a long-winded explanation of French cooking that left Savannah, trapped between the two, bored out of her mind and sending Angus goofy messages on snapchat.

Angus passed the time until their food arrived seeing how sneaky he could take and send pictures to Savannah without tipping off to Kravitz that he was in them.    
  
He didn’t even have to  _ try _ to avoid Mom and Dad’s attention; Lup was draped against Barry’s shoulder and watching Taako and Keats’ conversation with satisfaction, occasionally turning to murmur something to Barry in what sounded to Angus like German, which meant they were probably talking about Sex Stuff. Barry chuckled quietly at whatever Lup was saying to him and leaned in to kiss her cheek before responding in the same murmurs   
  
He didn’t really get why they thought he’d never notice.   
  
At least the food coming interrupted the intensive cooking discussion, and Angus could turn to Kravitz without feeling like he was interrupting, “How many times do you have to come here for work?”   
  
Kravitz turned towards Angus and smiled. "Oh, quite a few times in the past. We have several contacts in the city. That's the thing with classified agencies. We all seem to have government ties of some kind or another."

The temptation to ask how much older Kravitz’s agency was than the government was on the tip of Angus’s tongue, but the smell wafting off of his crepes distracted him.    
  
Lup turned back to the table at large, a blush creeping up her ears and smiled innocently at Taako whose face said ‘annoyed’ but ears said ‘amused’.    
  
“So! As far as  _ I’m _ concerned, today and tomorrow are ‘taking it fuckin’ easy’ days, and anything you guys wanna do beyond this are without ‘adult’ supervision.”

Keats nodded. "We're going to go walk the botanical gardens. Hey, Angus, did you wanna come with us?"   
  
Savannah was grinning down at her phone and looked up then. "Oh! Yeah, there's a really neat area with endangered plants and I can't wait to see those."

Angus looked from his nearly finished crepe to them and back again, clearly torn.    
Kravitz chuckled at him before checking his phone again and frowning. He stood up, reaching for his wallet,    
  
“I’m going to get the bill and- I’m sorry, it seems that something has come up I have to see to, and I should be done before tonight.”   
  
Leaning down, he kissed Taako, who was almost managing to hide his disappointment.   
“I’ll call you later, dearest.”    
  
Lup watched him leave, ears flicked up in interest.    
“Huh....I guess the fact he  _ hasn’t _ been called out so far is kinda a miracle.”

Keats watched Kravitz go and then looked at Taako uncertainly. Then his ears flicked back.   
  
"You could... you could come with us if you wanted, Uncle Taako. So you're not wandering around alone." Then he paused, tone turning uncertain but also joking. Like he was trying to mimic the way Angus and Taako interacted but wasn't sure of himself yet. "Someone's gotta keep an eye on Angus, right?".

Taako’s ears flicked briefly, uncertain, before smirking first at Keats then at Angus.    
  
“Sure, whatever, I’m sure you’ll get super bored without me anyway.” 

Barry smiled then, squeezing Lup's hand under the table. It was baby steps, sure. But things were working out. They could do this parenting thing, even if it had looked a little rough for a minute there. Lup smiled into her glass and squeezed Barry’s hand back.    
  
The day was one of those gloriously perfect late spring days, warm but with just enough breeze to chase the humidity away.    
The six of them wandered the paths, breaking up in various combinations and coalescing together again.    
  
On one such breaking up, Lup was draped over Taako watching Barry helping Angus and Savannah look up the genus of a plant.    
  
“How you doin’, Munch?”

Taako turned slightly, taking a sip of the bubble tea he'd gotten somewhere along the way. The air smelled lightly of all the flowers that surrounded them, each breeze bringing just a touch of a new scent. Keats had just wandered off, staring at some berry bush and taking notes in his phone again, a habit Taako had begun to notice more and more. Especially since it always seemed to pertain to either food or puzzles. Then he shrugged just a bit at his twin.   
  
"Havin' a fuckin' blast, Lu. So many flowers, not enough time. Look, there's even a tree."   
  
He missed Kravitz when he had to go to work. It was frustrating and he hated that he could never really have Kravitz's attention all to himself. And he understood objectively that Kravitz's job was important, was quite literally life or death, but still. That didn't mean he had to like how many dates they lost out on, how many times he woke up to find out that Kravitz had to disappear in the night.    
  
"But hey, I haven't strangled any of the kids, so I think we're doin' pretty fuckin' good."

“Yeah, I’m kinda shocked,” she squeezed him tighter. “....you were right, you know....’bout Angus.” She sighed, still mildly annoyed.

"And you were right about Keats, so I guess we're even, huh?” He gave her a wry grin, "Which reminds me, there may or may not be a crepe pan on its way to your house as an apology. Which, yeah,  _ yeah, _ I know that's not the whole  _ thing _ you're trying to do, but I'm the uncle and I get to do what I want. I don't have to be a  _ good _ role model."

“Gods all forbid, babe, of course you get the  _ fun _ job,” Lup bumped her head against his and started walking towards their group again. 


	16. The Suit Date

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ima be real with you, chief....Tara and I wrote this whole fic as a set up for this chapter. Enjoi.

This date night Taako insisted on pulling Lup into his room for prep instead, shoving Barry’s newly tailored suit at him and saying if he couldn’t figure it out a _second_ time he was hopeless.   
  
For something with ostensibly more pieces to it, the suit and accessories took much less time to assemble than the dress had, and Lup was determined to limit her amount of ear jewelry for the Look.™   
  
Still, Angus was swinging his legs in boredom, having not been allowed to observe on this one, watching Barry fiddle with his cuffs and eyeing the door.   
  
“How come _you_ don’t get to wear as many colors?”

 

Barry sighed quietly. He even had a muted tie with this outfit. But, as he kept reminding himself, it wasn't like it would matter. No one would ever notice him beside Lup anyway. She was radiant. She lit up a room just by being there. Then he grinned over at Angus and adjusted his tie one last time.  
  
"The patriarchy, mostly."

 

Angus wrinkled his nose, “Gross...”  
  
There was a knock at the door and he jumped up out of his seat to answer it. Taako was grinning as he stepped through,   
  
“Hold onto your butt, Barold, this might be my masterpiece.”

 

Barry looked up at that and bit his lower lip nervously. And then he saw Lup and whatever words had been in his mind scattered to the four winds. To say that suits were his weakness was putting it lightly. And Lup in a suit? It was a good thing he was already dead because Barry Bluejeans wasn't sure he was breathing.

 

“You look _great_ , Mom,” Angus crouched down to check her shoes. “These look better than your heels.”   
  
Lup smirked at Barry briefly before grinning down at Angus, “I’ll last way longer with them too.”   
  
The glance she flicked towards Barry was sharp, contained, and her ears pinned back into neutral, her voice level.   
  
“Time to go, babe.”

 

Mouth open just slightly, but still definitely not breathing, Barry nodded and followed after her. He was positive he was blushing. When he caught up to her and they were just out of hearing range of their room, he turned to look at her.   
  
"You look... _Wow._ I just... wow."

 

Lup smirked down at him and offered her arm, “You gonna be okay, babe? Whole date and all.” Her phone chimed with the Lyft notification, and she raised a challenging eyebrow at him.

 

"I can't promise intelligent conversation. But I'm sure gonna try,” He took her arm and then turned to kiss her cheek lightly.   
"Anyway, I gotta make it through dinner before I uh... before I can have dessert, right?"

 

“Damn straight,” Lup’s ears eased forward into a fond look before pinning back into neutral. Hooking his arm firmly, she led Barry out into the lobby and to their waiting car.   
  
The drive was quiet, Lup picking Barry’s hand up and placing it on her knee without looking at him. When they got to the restaurant, Lup strode two steps ahead to speak to the hostess before Barry could even try.

 

Barry hung back gladly, enjoying the way the suit was perfectly tailored to her. She always looked amazing, whether she was dressed like this or in the faded and worn flannel pajama pants she liked to pair with one of his shirts he'd long since given up on ever getting back. But there was something about the knowledge that she was doing this for him, because she knew he liked it, that just left him weak at the knees and blushing like a fool.   
  
They were settled at a table long before his knees did give out, thankfully.

 

As the waiter came up, Lup once again cut in before Barry could try to make his mouth work and ordered drinks for them both, smiling winningly until he left and she peeked over her menu at Barry, a brief trickle of caution moving through their bond.   
  
“Give me a color, babe?”

 

Barry's eyebrows shot up as, in that moment, he fully realized what was happening. He stumbled over himself for just a moment before giving her a smile.

"Green. Absolutely green." Then he took a shaky breath, potentially the first one he'd actually taken since they left the hotel. "If this is what I get for pointing out uh... for mentioning a weakness, I will definitely tell you about more in the future."

 

Lup grinned and turned a page, “I always appreciate having more data to pull from, babe, you know that.”   
Flicking him another hooded glance, her grin turned into a smirk.   
“If we need another question for a question game to get you through this, speak up, Bluejeans.”

 

He sat up straighter then, back no longer touching the back of the chair.   
  
"Did you wanna hear those here or uh... or in private? Cause uh... I can think of at least one thing I'd like a repeat performance on that uh... I probably shouldn't discuss in public?"

 

Lup snorted and looked up in time to see the waiter coming back with their drinks (whiskey for Barry, Moscow mule for her).   
  
“Duck á l’orange for us both please,” she said while holding out her hand for Barry’s menu. “You’ll like this one, babe.”   
  
As the waiter left again, Lup sipped her drink and switched to German, “(Are you really sure that’s where you want to go when we have all of dinner in front of us?)”

 

Barry reached for his drink, hiding an embarrassed smile. His response, though, was in English.   
  
"You make a fair point." He took a sip, closing his eyes briefly. It was a very good whiskey. Better than he was used to, with a clean finish. "So, I've never had duck á l'orange before. What am I in for or is it a surprise?"

 

Lup grinned, teasing her index finger over the rim of her glass,  
“It’s one of those fiddly French dishes that are amazing and I have absolutely no patience for. Keats might, but hells if it’s me gonna teach him.”

 

"It sounds delicious. I might just sneak a recipe onto his tablet if I decide I like it."  
He grinned at that. It was hard, trying to find his balance again when she'd thrown it so far off. He was hanging on her every word, watching every slight movement. And not in a bad way. She'd never used that voice on him in public before and he had to say, he was enjoying it.

 

It was a heady feeling, sensing Barry’s focus so utterly on her. Lup bit the inside of her cheek to keep from bursting out into a ridiculously wide grin and took a moment to sip her drink and stuff her composure back into shape. “Hell yeah... I’d say we should try ducks along with chickens next year, but if we actually tried _eating_  them I feel like that might traumatize the boys unnecessarily.”   
  
Setting her cup down, Lup picked up the napkin in front of her and started unfolding the design so she could start carefully tying knots in it.   
“Just make sure to leave room for dessert, babe.”

 

Barry’s widened just slightly as he watched her tying the napkin into knots. Then he bit his lower lip and nodded.   
  
“Y-yeah, probably shouldn’t traumatize the boys. We’ve done a pretty good job avoiding that so far. I’d hate to break the streak.”   
  
He was pretty sure he was babbling and he wasn’t sure he cared. The more he watched her slender fingers gracefully tying knots, the brighter the blush on his cheeks got.

 

“Plus the whole feather mess. Nah, if there’s ONE thing I appreciate about meat production nowadays it’s not having to pluck whole birds anymore,” Lup reached the end of her napkin and went back over it, lightly unplucking the knots again. She met Barry’s eyes and smiled very slightly.   
“Keep it _together_ , Bluejeans. Haven’t even hit the first course.”   
There was a small patter of glee across their connection, and her ears kept trying to flare out of their neutral position.

 

"If I wasn't already dead, you'd be killing me right now..." He said it very quietly. "Still green, just so we're clear. Green, but also _very_ dead."   
He ran his fingers through his hair, pushing it back away from his face. He really could use to get it cut soon. It finally looked like it was growing. Then he took a sip of his whiskey and forced himself to look more calm. She wanted him to hold it together, he could hold it together. It just meant he would come apart all the faster later.

 

Lup cackled into her drink and set it down as the waiter brought both their dishes, followed by a bottle of wine, which was decanted with much aplomb.   
  
Lup raised her glass to clink to Barry’s, still trying not to smirk, “To making it legal?”

 

Barry smiled slowly and raised his own drink, "I'll gladly drink to that." Then his grin turned coy and he decided to have a little fun and turn the tables on her. "Still trying to guess when I'm gonna ask, babe?"

 

Lup carefully cut into her duck (picture acquired for Keats) and took a slow bite, savoring it. Sipping her wine, she smiled at him, ears easing down into a happy tilt.   
  
“Well, it’s not _tonight_...which still gives you about two days to surprise me....”

 

"Oh yeah, definitely not tonight." He took a small bite of his duck and then looked surprised. "This is delicious. Not a texture I thought I'd like, but I'm very here for this."  
  
He took a few more bites, clearly enjoying. Then he gave her a small smile. "Given any thought to what sort of wedding you'd like?"

 

“At the house, out back, with a shit ton of food and dancing,” Lup swallowed and grinned evilly. “-it’ll drive Taako _nuts_ , he hates outdoor weddings.” She took another bite and closed her eyes, humming contentment.

 

"Alright, but we're bribing Taako and Keats to do the cooking so you can relax." He paused. "Do people relax at weddings? I have no idea."

 

“No, everyone is some variety of stressed, it just depends in which area.” Taking another bite, she dropped her mask for a moment to tuck her chin into her hand and give him a fond look.   
  
“Any wishes from you?”

 

He shrugged a little. “I mean, aside the patently impossible... I uh... I’ve been doing some digging into family traditions and come to the conclusion that my family was wild.”  
  
He pulled his phone out of his pocket and held it out. On the screen was a picture that was presumably from his parents’ wedding. Marlena was in a fairly traditional looking dress and Gregor was in a tuxedo, but he also had a sword at his side.   
  
“So I might need a sword. Which is definitely the craziest thing I’ve ever said.”

 

Lup choked slightly, before leaning back and laughing, “Babe, we can _deffo_ get you a sword.” She paused, then reached out and took his phone to stare at the picture, “....okay, but what do you want to bet your mom kept it in the attic?”

 

"Knowing Mom? She absolutely did." Barry sighed. "I found a spelling test from first grade last time I was up there."  
  
He looked down at the table for a moment and then back up at her, a smile playing at the corners of his mouth.   
  
"Have I ever mentioned how... how happy it makes me that we can just talk about all this weird shit and it's so normal? And like... Sometimes I think about the fact that all of this happened because you literally walked into my haunted house and... I guess... I just... I'm really lucky that all of this happened the way it happened. I could've just been dead or you could've never decided to come to my house or... or..."

 

Lup handed his phone back and caught his other hand in hers, lacing their fingers together.   
“What’s that quantum theory? Everything happens somewhere? I like being in _this_ somewhere, with you, and the weirdass shit that is our life.” Bringing his hand up, she kissed Barry’s knuckles, holding his gaze.

 

Barry's eyes were full of love as he smiled at her then, "Yeah, that's... yeah. It uh... It may have been a long and crazy road to get here, but I'm damn glad it all worked out this way."

 

Lup pressed another lingering kiss to the back of his hand before setting it down on the table. She didn’t let go of it.   
  
“Wouldn’t have it any other way, babe.”   
  
Glancing down at their linked hands, her ears going a bright pink, Lup reached for her glass, biting the inside of her lip.   
“ _Now_ you’ve got me losing my face, being all sappy, Bear.”

 

Barry looked down for a moment and then sat up straight again, "I'll stop if you tell me to.” He was grinning, but his posture was back and his attention was entirely focused on her again.

 

Lup let her heady roll of delighted possessiveness move across their link in a subtle wave before flicking her ears back to neutral.   
  
The waiter stopped by them briefly to fill their waters and ask if they wanted a dessert. Lup nodded, ordering a small, dairy-free tart for the both of them.   
  
As he left, Lup cut her eyes towards Barry, sipping the last of her wine,   
“I should probably let you know you will be  waiting.... _slightly_ longer after we get back...”

 

Barry looked surprised and then his blush brightened again. He reached for his drink.   
  
“Did you have plans or uh...?”   
  
He had a theory of what she was implying but wasn’t sure.

 

Lup’s eyes flicked over what she could see of him and back up again. Reaching for her water, still smiling a small, private smile, she nodded once.   
  
“We’re going to walk a block over, there’s some music playing at a bar in a half hour. I thought it would be nice to digest a bit, don’t you think?”

 

"What sort of music?" Barry had a gleam in his eye. He loved an evening spent dancing with Lup. At home, out somewhere, it didn't matter.

 

“Jazz; they’ve got a piano player that can do two keyboards at a time, so THAT should be a show.”  
  
The dessert showed up then, along with the check which Lup snagged with a Look at Barry.   
  
\-   
  
The club was plush with velvet drapes and dark wood paneled walls, signs prominently pointing towards the smoking areas, and a mix of races and species all seated along the edge of a beautifully tiled dance floor. The piano player was a stocky gnome, the tuft on their tail curled and moussed to a perfect curl as they bowed to the audience and introduced the band.   
  
The booth Lup pulled them to was a half circle and she crooked a finger at Barry to allow him to press against her side as they watched the opening song.

 

Barry leaned against Lup, moving to put an arm around her. He couldn’t help but look all around the room. It was an amazing place, with everyone dressed to the nines and decor of the sorts he’d only ever seen in pictures. It was almost like stepping into one of the stories he’d read about the roaring 20s and he loved it.

 

Lup ran careful fingers through the hair at the back of Barry’s neck, trying not to actually muss the work he’d put into fixing it, keeping her face deliberately straight as she watched the pianist perform their first set. It really WAS a good act, and she felt vaguely guilty that neither of them was much focused on it. She could feel the line of tension through Barry’s arm where it wrapped around her and where his thigh pressed against hers. It was all she could do to keep her anticipation from constantly leaking through.   
  
She dipped a finger and traced it along the back of his suit collar, pulling it just a LITTLE tighter before taking her hand away to applaud the end of the song.

 

Barry’s attention was back on Lup the moment she touched the back of his neck. He only barely didn’t close his eyes and lean back into the light touches by the simple expedient of keeping his eyes locked on the pianist, who was after all very good. He could certainly appreciate a skilled pianist.   
  
And then he felt his collar go just a bit tighter against his skin, just a little reminder. He bit his lower lip, suppressing the urge to whimper. Tonight was going to be a long night of this was how she was going to play it, but it would be so very worth it.

 

A waitress came by then, as one of the pianos was being moved off stage and the band started setting up for dancing music. Lup smiled and ordered them two Arnold Palmers. She was feeling a nice loose warmth from the previous drink and wine and refused to upset the balance.

 

She put her hand back at the base of Barry’s neck as she observed the band again, “Got a color, babe?”

 

He did lean into her touch then, closing his eyes for just a moment. "Green." His voice was soft. "Definitely green. Just maybe... collar is okay, but not much more than that?"  
  
He was a little frustrated with himself, though he was keeping that inside. He hated the fact that he couldn't just turn off his instinctive response to feeling like he couldn't breathe, even for just a moment. It wasn't like he needed to breathe anymore. He could just skip that if he _remembered._

 

"Got it," Lup put the slightest amount of pressure on the back of his collar before leaning over to murmur in his ear.  
"You're being _such_ a good boy for me, you know? So alert and eager to please ~"   
  
Pulling back, she winked and ran her fingers down Barry's arm to catch at his hand.   
"C'mon, babe, time to shake a leg."

 

A shiver ran up Barry's spine and he stood shakily. She was taking him apart by inches and he loved every second of it. He squeezed her hand and followed her onto the dance floor. The music was starting up and he nodded along a little with the rhythm. It was lively, just the sort of thing he loved to dance to. Well, at least when they weren't at one of the modern clubs.

Lup pulled him into a brisk swing step, ears having a tendency to flare forward before she remembered herself enough to pin them back to neutral.   
  
There had been some confusing moments back at the start, them playing music in the house and making up dances to it; Barry always tended to let Lup take the lead, while she wanted to switch back and forth, or not have anyone leading at all. Just one more thing for them to stumble through and come out the other side with a better understanding of how the other worked and how they both worked together.   
  
But here and now, Lup was having no qualms about showing exactly where she was directing Barry; telegraphing her movements broadly and sliding hands across his shoulders and back _ostensibly_ to keep him from stumbling.   
  
Her laughter when he did was delighted; a joke between the two of them and never mocking.

 

Barry was laughing too, even as he stumbled over his own feet. It didn't matter one bit because they were together and they were both happy in each others arms. What else did they need? He had been getting used to the idea of taking turns leading but he always loved when she led, when she was in charge. Even with everything that he'd had to unlearn about relationships from Lup and his therapist, even if everything with Edward had never happened, he would still feel like he belonged on his knees in front of her, worshipping at her altar. It just felt right.

 

Two songs later, Lup pulled him back to their booth, fighting to get her face under control from its flushed and adoring look. Cupping Barry’s cheek, she kissed his forehead chastely and sent a very _not_ chaste roll of possessive _want_ down their link. He was too red to show much difference but the way his eyes went round and shining was addicting.   
  
“Tappin’ out for a bathroom run, babe. Stay here unless you gotta do the same.”   
  
A light pinch of his earlobe and she was gone.

 

Barry dropped into the booth with a smile on his face and reached blindly for his drink. He was grinning like an idiot and breathing hard, but he knew he would have a minute while she was gone. He tapped his foot in time to the music, letting his breathing slow rapidly rather than the more normal way. Most of his attention was on the band and not really on the people around him in the club.

 

The crowd around him moved on and off the dance floor, people sitting, chatting, dancing, laughing, and watching the band. One table, kitty corner from their booth had a mixed collection of human and elven men, all in expensive suits. One of them got up a few moments after Lup had vanished into the crowd and wandered, deliberately nonchalant, and leaned a hand on the table across from Barry.   
  
“Hey buddy, just, uh, just have a quick question real fast.”

 

Barry looked up, slightly startled but managing to hide it, and then set his drink down. He gave the man an uncertain smile, looking him over. Fifty years ago, he'd have a pretty solid idea what was about to happen but now? He wasn't sure. At least, he was pretty sure this guy wasn't coming to warn him off the club. Probably. Well, he was human for starters. With close cropped hair that was going salt and pepper. He wasn't anyone Barry knew though and he didn't look like he was going to cause trouble, so friendly it was.  
  
"Yeah, sure. What's up?"

 

The man jerked his head in the direction Lup had gone, smirking slightly.   
  
“How much you paying? Is it an hourly thing or just a lump sum for the night? If you could slide me her contact-“ he winked, “-I’d owe you one.”

 

Barry was very glad his drink was already on the table. That meant it didn't fall out of his hand as the shock registered on his face. He coughed once, clearing his throat. Then he glanced towards where Lup had gone as well, the smile on his face tender. Then he looked back at the man standing across from him. There were so many ways he could respond to that. Hell, he should probably be angry. Or something. Instead, he just grinned.  
  
"Actually, uh... I'm not." His grin turned into something else, an absolutely disbelieving smile. "We're getting _married."_   
  
After a moment, his grin turned smug. "So I guess you're out of luck."

 

The man took his hand off the table as if he’d been burned, blinking like somehow that would resolve Barry into a different focus.   
  
Slowly, he turned his head toward the bathrooms, just as Lup strode into view.   
  
“Huh. Guess so.” He glanced back at Barry, and shrugged, “....your funeral.”   
  
Lup came just within hearing range at that, and bared her teeth in something that was ostensibly a smile.   
  
“Hey babe, finished your drink?”

 

Barry muttered something that sounded distinctly like _"Actually, my funeral was like fifty years ago, but go off, I guess."_ And then he turned back towards Lup.   
  
"Yeah, I did. We heading out or did you want to dance more?"   
  
He would tell her about the idiot some other time. Maybe in the morning when they were relaxing in bed before the kids got up. The thought left him chuckling quietly.

 

Lup’s gaze followed the human man back to his table, observing his compatriots leaning forward then giving them both odd looks as he told them what Barry had said.   
  
Her ears flicked down slightly, before she turned to Barry and softened.   
  
“...I think I’m done here.”   
  
She held a hand out for him to take and tugged Barry out of the club.   
  
It was another quiet ride back to the hotel, and their room with dark with a glint under the kids’ door to show they were there but winding down. Lup kept a light pressure of her fingers on Barry’s hand as she drew him to their own room, a whisper lighting up the muffling charm.

 

The moment they got to the room, Barry reached to loosen his tie and then stopped. He paused instead, looking at her and waiting. He bit his lower lip, waiting to see what she would say. Anticipation rolled through him and off of him, tinged with excitement.

 

Lup turned, smiling quietly as she reached for his tie and slowly began untying it.   
“Now, I had _planned_ -hands to yourself, babe-“ she tossed it on the bed before undoing the two buttons on Barry’s jacket and pushing it off his shoulders. Still not meeting his eyes, she began unbuttoning his shirt with brisk efficiency.   
  
“My _plan_ was to get myself off while you sat over here and told me what you really wanted to be doing.”   
  
With the shirt unbuttoned she pushed that off too, her hands moving to unbuckle his belt. “-but that might make you _sad_ , not getting me off, and here you’ve been _so_ good all night~”   
  
Barry’s pants hit the floor and Lup palmed his erection through his boxers, the other hand moving up to grip the hair at the back of his head and slowly pull back.   
  
“- _Not_ that you’re getting off before me, of course...” Lup leaned forward and pressed her mouth to Barry’s carotid, murmuring her next words against his skin, “ _Why’s_ that, babe?”

 

Barry opened and closed his mouth a few times, trying to find his words. They seemed to have escaped somewhere along the way. His eyes had grown wider and wider with each thing she said. Then he smiled, keeping his hands at his sides and letting her push him around. Fuck, he loved that she could and would do that. Sometimes, it was just so _good._   
  
His eyes closed as she pulled his head back, fingers tangled in his hair. It was a slow tug, one that burned and pulled him where she wanted and some very distant part of him was extremely happy they'd discovered that didn't put him into the same fight or flight panic as a sharp tug. He whimpered softly as her lips brushed the sensitive skin of his throat. He wanted her to bite, to be rough with him. He was practically shaking with anticipation and he bit his lower lip for a moment to pull himself back together before he responded. "Because I'm yours, Lup. Just yours."

 

“ _That’s_ right, _good_ boy~” Lup licked a stripe up his neck and nipped at the corner of Barry’s jaw. Running her fingers up the front of his boxers, she ran a finger inside the waistband, pulling it back and letting go with a snap.   
  
“I’m thinking... you shuck these and grab a pillow, babe. You’re going to be on your knees a while.”   
  
Tightening her grip in his hair, Lup caught Barry’s mouth in a rough kiss, sliding her tongue over his before nipping his bottom lip. Letting go of his hair, she turned sharply to the wingback chair in the corner of their room and strode towards it, a zipping sound heralding the loosening of her pants.

 

The moment she let go of him and walked away, he wiggled out of his boxers and tossed them with the dirty laundry. He grabbed one of the pillows from the bed, making sure it wasn't too plush. Anything too plush would be hard to kneel on and at that point, the floor would be better. Having picked a good one, he settled on his knees in front of her with his hands behind his back. No touching until she said he could. The look in his eyes as he looked up at her was eager and expectant and tender. He wanted to please her and pleasure her and it was only that he was being good for her that kept him still.

 

Lup was sitting, her pants down and clit out, still mostly dressed. As Barry settled himself she reached out and cupped his cheek, ears forward in interest.   
  
“Think I’m fuckin’ your face tonight, Bluejeans, how’s that?” She ran her nails along the underside of his jaw, eyes softening as she looked over his shoulder at his hands, “You can touch the top of my thighs, Bear, but nothing else, kay?” Her hand moved up again, thumb caressing the soft spot under Barry’s ear before threading her fingers in his curls, “Think you can be good like that?”

 

"I can do that." He said it all in a rush, words stumbling their way out of his mouth. He rested his hands lightly on her thighs, right where she said he could. The fabric under his fingers was smooth and cool, silken and soft. He would've preferred to have his hands on her skin but he didn't want to ask for that just yet. She was setting the pace. He could beg later. Instead, he took a moment to focus, doing the little mental trick that would let him not have to breathe for as long as he wanted.

 

Lup’s thumb caressed him again as she took her clit in hand. Momentarily her eyes sharpened and her ears flicked to neutral, “Give me a color and what you do if you need me to stop.”

 

"Three taps if I need to stop." He demonstrated, still looking up and meeting her eyes. "And... and all green, babe. Very green." Then his gaze dropped, anticipation swirling in his gut.

 

“ _Good_ boy.”   
Almost lazily, Lup pushed the back of his head forward, her other guiding her clit into Barry’s mouth.   
  
Her eyelids fluttered and there was a moment where she was unsure if _she_ could hang on for much longer. The heated looks Barry had been giving her and the anticipation rolling off him all night had coiled lust inside her like a spring. Lup swallowed, tracing her now free thumb along Barry’s jaw.   
  
“So-“ her voice cracked and she cleared her throat. “So _pretty_ , babe....”

 

Barry's fingers dug into her thighs as his hands reflexively sought some purchase. A soft whimper escaped his lips as lust and need coursed down their bond.

 

Lup let out a shuddering breath as Barry’s _wanting_ rolled over her, and she tightened her grip in his hair as she started moving his head gently. Biting her lip, she ran her free thumb over the corner of Barry’s mouth, feeling it slacken as he took her deeper. She was hardly trying to keep her feelings to herself anymore, and she met Barry’s with love and a possessive heat roiling across their link.   
  
“Gods _fuck_ , babe; should- should see your face. S’fuckin gorgeous.”

 

Barry let Lup guide him, closing his eyes now as he just focused on the feelings swirling and surging between the both of them. It was a flood of raw emotions, and he whimpered softly again as he felt the tightness in his gut growing. He was suddenly very aware of the fact that he was very, very close even without her touching him.

 

The whimper and everything Lup was feeling rolling off him were familiar enough. She couldn’t hold back a laugh as she pulled Barry back, running her thumb along his chin, tsking, “Almost there already? _Barry_ , I thought I said me first~”   
She cupped his face and kissed his forehead, “and you’ve been _so_ good...”

 

Barry took a breath, trying through sheer willpower to bring himself back under control.  
  
“You did, you did. I’m being good though. Didn’t... didn’t yet.” He closed his eyes for a moment and then smiled up at her. “I want to be good for you, Lup.”

 

If anyone else had seen Lup’s smile at that moment they might have used a word like ‘besotted’. As it was she had to bite her lip to get her own face under control.   
  
“ _So_ good...” caressing Barry’s face, she moved her hand to the back of his head again. “You can use your hands now, babe.   I think you know how to do this part best.”

 

Barry ran his hands up her legs, caressing her skin lovingly. "Thank you." He said it with feeling and a huge smile on his face. Then he licked a stripe up her clit before taking her deeply once more. He grabbed her ass with one hand, pulling her close even as she pulled him in. He was eager, desperate even, needing her. His eyes were closed now, everything focused on her and the swirling feelings between them.

 

Lup gasped out another laugh before doubling over, moaning as her fingers tightened in Barry’s hair.   
  
She wasn’t using him anymore; she felt alternatively worshiped and devoured. Barry’s love and lust and need and desire and adoration poured over and around her until she was filled with and drowning in it.   
  
She came with a reedy wail, fingers wrapped in his curls, hips jerking involuntarily.

 

Barry pulled back just slightly, giving her room to move. Then he wiped his mouth on the back of his hand and smiled up at her. He was trembling just slightly as he watched her and then he leaned forward, resting his head on her leg. "Sounds like I did pretty good, huh?"

 

Huffing amusement, Lup ran her fingers through his hair. “ _Now_ you’re being _smug_ ,” she tugged his earlobe gently and pushed at him to give her room to stand.   
  
“Up, babe. Any and all ‘can’t walk tomorrow’ occasions should be saved for things other than bad knees.”   
Keeping a hand in Barry’s hair, she pulled at him until he stood and directed him to the bed, her free hand shucking her pants and underwear entirely.

 

Barry couldn't help but grin as he stood. "Here I thought you liked it when I'm smug, babe~"  
  
He followed, watching her strip. It was a sight he would never get tired of, no matter how long forever turned out to be. It wasn't until they got to the bed that he stopped and looked up at her. "So, how do you want me?"

 

Lup paused in the middle of unbuttoning her shirt and gave him long up and down look.   
  
“Mmmmm...grab me a glove and the lube, babe, then middle of the bed. “   
  
She took her time with the last few buttons and unhooking her bra. Tossing them on the floor, she followed him onto the bed.   
  
“Guess i just have my fingers left to fuck you with...should be fun. Finding out how loud I can get you.”

 

He opened his mouth and then closed it again, looking more than a little surprised. He crawled onto the bed, laying on his back with his legs spread and watched her through his knees. He bit his lower lip, just taking in the sight. "You're beautiful, you know that? Just... just amazing."  
  
He was pushed up a bit on his arms, not sitting all the way up but also not wanting to take his eyes off her just yet. "That... that uh... that sounds really good, Lup."

 

“Glad to hear it, babe,” Lup cast a fond look over him as she pulled on the latex glove, before leaning forward on that arm between Barry’s knees and catching his mouth in a kiss.   
  
Dipping her hips, she felt his _very_ hard cock trapped between them and smirked.   
  
“Some time though... I’ll have to see what it takes-“ her ungloved hand ran over Barry’s face before dipping down and lightly brushing the head of him.   
“-See how much it takes for you to come without touching, just by asking for it~”   
  
Winking, she peppered light kisses across Barry’s face before pulling back and grabbing the lube.

 

"I'll be real with you, I almost did. It uh... it was a close thing there." He gasped a bit at that first contact and then bit his lower lip. He didn't want this to be too quick, no matter how close he already was. It was almost a relief when she pulled back because it gave him another moment to pull himself together. He would last as long as she wanted him to.   
  
He watched her slicking her fingers with the lube and took a breath, trying to relax.

 

“Mmmmmmm...” Lup watched Barry; the flush on his cheeks and chest, the tremor still in his hands, the way he inhaled in calculatedly steady breaths- took it all in with a hooded expression as she rubbed the lube along her fingers and arranged herself between his knees.   
  
Reaching out, she gripped his cock with her free hand, a loose grip and up, to flick her thumb over the head.   
  
“Wonder if I’ll do that next time... get you all worked up and go down on me and see what gets you to finish...” she circled his entrance with one finger before pressing in, crooking it and pushing in the second almost right away. “-the sounds I make or the feel of me coming, or-“

 

Barry whimpered, trying to resist the urge to drop back into the blankets. He wanted to watch her take him apart by inches. "The- the sounds you make are like- like a drug, Lup. S'too good."  
  
Every thrust sent another shot of pleasure through his core, teasing him closer and closer to an edge he was already riding.

Lup practically cooed, thrusting harder, and leaning down to nose at his cock. Not taking her eyes off Barry’s face, she licked a strip up it and flicked her tongue at his frenulum.   
  
“I’d like to see that... see your face all flushed and panting and pretty when I pull you off my clit.”   
  
She stroked her hand upward with a quick twist, fingers crooked and searching.   
  
“Kiss you right after when all you taste like is me-“   
  
Without any more warning she took him in her mouth, swirling her tongue around the head.

 

The pictures she was painting with her words, her mouth around him, her fingers thrusting deep in him. It was so much, almost too much, and his voice cracked as his soft whimper turned into a moan that echoed through the room. He started to reach to run his fingers through her hair and then stopped, grabbing the blankets again. He wanted to, gods did he want to, but she hadn't given him permission yet and so he wouldn't.

 

Lup bobbed her head once, twice, and came up, grinning.   
  
“You wanna touch me, Bluejeans?” Pressing her lips to his cock, she trailed kisses down, following it up with a kiss to the swell of his stomach.   
“Or you waiting for me to tell you you can come?” Her fingers crooked and found his sweet spot, dragging them slowly back and forth.

 

"Both, _fuck,_ both, Lup. Please?" His grip on the blankets tightened and he rocked his hips against her hand. _"Please?"_ He begged shamelessly, his voice pitched up and thin.

“Awwwww, _babe_ ....” Lup twisted her hand, thrusting her fingers harder, “You’re allowed~”   
Dipping her head, she took him in her mouth again.

 

That permission was all he needed. He tangled his fingers in her hair as he bucked his hips up. His back arched, his heels digging into the mattress as he hit his climax. And then he lay back, breathing hard. "Lup... You're so good... so amazing..."

 

Lup pulled off and kissed the inside of Barry’s thigh. Scooting up, she crawled under his arm and nuzzled his jaw.   
“Love you, Barry.”

 

He wrapped his arms around her, kissing anywhere he could. "I love you too. I love you so much." He ran his hand up and down her back, holding her tight against him.

 

Her purr started in full force, no gradual buildup. Rolling, Lup pulled him on top of her and kissed back as much as she could while grinning enormously.   
“That was fun, I should try winding you up more often.”

 

"You say that like you don't wind me up all the time, babe." He kissed her forehead and then the tip of her nose. Then he kissed her lips, long and sweet. As he pulled back, he bit her lower lip.

 

“Not on _purpose_ ... mostly.” She wiggled under him, still grinning. Reaching up, Lup wrapped her arms around Barry’s neck and bumped their foreheads together, still purring.   
  
Plucking at the strands of their connection, she nosed around the feelings he was giving off, not wanting a sudden drop even as she poured out all her warm affections and soft adoration.

 

He laughed and kissed her again. It meant a lot to him that they always had time like this, time after things got intense like that. She was so good to him. It was so different from... well, from before. He didn't like to think about his life before Lup, the years with Ed... Edward. It had never been like this. Half the time, he'd gone home right after.   
  
Barry forcibly shook those thoughts away and kissed her lightly. "Yeah, but you don't have to try. It's uh... I really like it when you do though." Then he got a sudden grin on his face. "Oh shit, babe, I _need_ to tell you what you walked in on earlier. At the club?"

 

Lup smirked and nuzzled closer, purr going deeper at the compliment. Barry’s comment had her ears flicking forward in interest...- but she wrinkled her nose and kissed Barry’s forehead.   
  
“I do want...but let me up, babe, we need water.” Stroking his hair she wriggled out from under him and across the bed, reaching for the empty glasses on the nightstand.   
“Then we can cuddle for good and you can tell me why he looked like you’d pulled his tail.”

 

He rolled off of her and lay on his back with his arms spread wide. "Water sounds real good. Oh... huh, yeah, I'm... dehydrated? Yeah, water's _real_ good."

 

Lup snorted and pulled on a pair of Barry’s pajama pants that he’d left on the end of the bed that morning before heading into the dark common room. When she did come back, she handed a glass to Barry and set hers down, her free hand digging for the wipes in the drawer. Scooting across the bed, she nuzzled at his shoulder as she starting cleaning him off, ears pricked up.   
“Human dude in a fancy suit. Was he asking for a threesome?”

 

Barry snorted. "Nope, asking for your rates, babe." He reached for the pants. "He uh... he seemed to be under the impression I'd hired you. Apparently, he didn't take it too well when I gave him a smile and said he was out of luck. You know, the one when I'm being all smug? That smile."  
He wiggled into his pajama pants and then reached to pull her into his arms. "I thought it was pretty damn funny."

 

Lup’s eyes narrowed and her ears flicked back slightly. She still crawled into the circle of Barry’s arms and made sure he drank the whole glass as she sorted out how she was feeling.   
  
“Hnph... guess I’ll take a compliment on my domme aura then,” her tone was ever so slightly grumpy as she wrapped her arms right around his chest, slinging a leg over his hip and small curls of the heated possessive feeling from earlier twisted around their bond.   
“I checked his ass, though, not half as good as yours... I’d charge him triple just for that.”

 

Barry noted the grumpy tones and hesitated. He’d thought it was hilarious watching the man walk off like a petulant child. Now he was less sure. He set the empty glass on the nightstand with a little push of magic to make sure it wasn’t close to the edge. Then he wrapped his arms around her again, one hand at the small of her back to hold her close.  
  
It was a minute or so before he spoke again, nervous worry humming through him and unintentionally along their bond.   
  
“Should I have... been mad?” He sounded uncertain. “I uh... I thought it was... you know...”

 

Lup blinked at him, reaching up to cup his cheek.   
  
“Babe, you can feel any way you want,” she kissed him, then again harder.   
“ _I_ just don’t like the implication I have to be paid to love you.”   
  
It was harder to send soothing calm over his worry when what she felt most was heated _mine_.

 

Barry sighed and ran his hands over her back. Then he kissed her softly.   
  
"I guess that's what I thought was funny. Just how... how wrong he was. I mean, that and the look on his face." He shrugged a little and then just relaxed, returning that feeling with a reassuring _yours._

 

The tension in Lup’s back eased and her purr came back in a soft reassuring rumble. Looping one arm around Barry’s neck and the other under his side and up his back, she felt entangled enough to let her eyes droop.   
  
“He was wrong... figuring anything worth having can only be bought...”

 

Barry chuckled quietly and kissed her cheek, stretching his magic out to pull the blankets up over them both without moving either of them.  
  
"Love you, Lup." He murmured. "Love you so much."


	17. Chapter 17

Angus lay on his bed, staring up at his phone, scrolling slowly through dry academic notations on the paintings he'd taken pictures of because they had Kravitz in them. Most of them were all about the painters and what was going on in them, but  _ some _ .... Some had lists of names of the people IN the paintings.    
  
Kravitz had gone by a LOT of different names, which Angus thought was pretty self-explanatory; a lot easier to leave a  life behind once you shucked a name, but...   
  
He frowned at the oldest painting, the one he wasn't even quite sure was Kravitz except that it had given him the right feeling. Feelings weren't evidence but sometimes you had to trust your gut. Besides; Kravitz had smirked his very dry smile at it.   
The painting was by a French explorer ("Call them trespassers, lil man," Mom had said, with the smile that said she was amused but not joking. "It makes people mad and it's not wrong")  of robed priests standing along a river "performing a magical ritual" which was academic speak for "we don't know".   
  
He'd asked Kravitz and Kravitz had stared at the painting and then at him.    
"They're cleansing the river of a necromantic sacrifice so it doesn't poison anything else downstream."   
  
Angus frowned at the search page, but anything else about the painting was behind a paywall, and he tossed his phone and arched off the side of the bed to look at Keats on the other side of the room, "Are Mom and Dad up yet? They didn't even get in late."

Keats sat up, finishing up the last of his sit-ups for the morning. They could hear the shower running, but that was Savannah. He tilted his head to the side, ears flicking up as he listened. Not that silence meant anything, but maybe they would turn the muffle charm off if they were up?   
“I dunno. Haven’t seen them yet, at least.” He stood, stretching, and then moved into push-ups. “Did Uncle Kravitz come back last night? I didn’t see him yet either.”   
  
His words were staccato, punctuated by soft grunts of effort.

"Uncle Taako didn't say, but I think it's another day where we're supposed to leave them alone anyway, " Angus half scooted, half fell off the bed, watching Keats intently. Slowly, he flattened out and tried to mimic the position and push himself off the floor.

Keats paused, shifting to his knees to watch Angus. Then he smiled. "Move your arms a little further apart. There you go. And try to get so your arm's at a right angle."

Angus’s face scrunched into his concentrating scowl as he tried to lower himself on shaking arms, his stomach tending to dip in the middle, “Where.... do you think.... Uncle Kravitz.... _ went? _ ”    
  
He huffed and put a knee down, still scowling at the floor.

"Try on your knees for now, it'll be a little easier. Just until you get a little more core strength." Then he blinked a few times. Where  _ did _ he think Uncle Kravitz had gone? It was hard to say. It wasn't like the man ever said where he was going. Or what he was doing, beyond vague references to things that made no sense to Keats.   
"I dunno... Maybe his weird work has an office here?"

Bending his knees did make it easier, and Angus managed three more before he flopped on the ground, staring into space, “Maybe... he said he’d be back last night. But he’s been acting super weird. He doesn’t check his phone all the time like that at home, he just waits for it to ring.” Rolling over, he tried two sit-ups before giving up.

"That  _ is _ really weird... Maybe it's something bigger than usual? Or something dangerous?" Keats moved to hold Angus' feet down, "Try again. Bet you can get to ten."

Angus grunted as he managed another five and lay back, breathing hard and scowling at the ceiling, “I wish I had just followed him.”

"Why not just track him now? You don't have any trouble when it's me or Mom and Dad." Keats grinned then and gestured for Angus to keep going, "Arms above your head, deep breaths. You got it."

Stretching his arms out, Angus curled up the last three and flopped back again, “I’d need something... Think Uncle Taako would let me touch his stuff?”

"We can try."   
  
Keats stood and finished the last of his morning stretches just as Savannah stepped out of the bathroom, dressed and ready to go. She reached for her phone, looking over at the boys.   
  
"So, what's the plan for today? We're on our own, right?"

Before Angus could answer, the door to their parents room opened and Lup came out, hair rumpled and rubbing at her face with a makeup wipe. Through the door, Barry was sitting on the bed, having already gotten ready for the day and attempting to finger comb his hair to something that was remotely neat. Striding to the front, Lup opened it to show Taako; face nonchalant, but ears drooping slightly.    
  
“Hey munch, s’up?”

Taako gestured airily and tried to continue to look like he didn't care. It was hard with how he was incessantly drumming his fingers on his thigh, "Just checking to see if anyone over here had seen Krav yet today."

Lup’s ears went up then back as she frowned, rubbing her eyeliner out, “Nooooo... I just got up...” the fact that Taako was even  _ asking _ when everyone knew Kravitz wouldn’t have come back without telling him meant something was  _ very _ wrong. “He hasn’t texted?”    
  
Angus peered out the door, staring at Taako’s slowly crumbling posture and hesitatingly moved into the common room.   
  
Lup flicked an ear at him, “did you hear from Krav, lil man?”   
  
“No... not since he left yesterday...” Angus glanced from his Mom’s growing concern to Taako’s inability to look anyone in the face. “Should... could I try looking for him? Like Dad does?”

Keats was already nodding. Taako seemed less certain. He shrugged, twisting the ring Kravitz had given him. Normally, he would have heard  _ something. _ Normally Kravitz would have at least sent an apology text by now, "I mean, you do you, bubbeleh but no guarantees Bones can actually  _ be _ tracked. I mean... unless he wants to be, probably."

Lup shrugged, “If he can, it’s because his magic is so fuckin’ weird. Did you guys think about linking your rings, maybe?”   
  
Taako made a face. "We hadn't  _ yet. _ It's not like we're actually married yet." Then he got quieter. "It was on the todo list."

Angus had darted back to his room as soon as Taako had mostly agreed, and dug through his bag for his space pen. After a moment of thought, he grabbed one of the smooth rocks he’d found on the home property and kept in his bag as an anchor.   
  
He held them up for Taako’s inspection when he came back out, nervous energy buzzing along- and mostly being held in check by- his beaded braids. He swallowed, as Taako examined what he had, hoping he wasn’t about to sound stupid and held up the pen.    


“I’m gonna need something of his, but... maybe I can... can astral project and find him? If I have a map I could-“ he waved his pen, nervously.

Barry hummed quietly, working that through. "Make sense... use the rock from home as an anchor." Then he snapped his fingers. "Lup, think he could use my anchors too?"   
  
He got up, going to his bag to grab the little half-spheres from the other night. "I could uh... We could just set these up around the room and it's like being at home, bud. Think that'll help?"

“Use ‘em as wards, if you’re jumping out of your body all the time you should leave  _ something _ behind to protect it.” Lup tugged Taako to the door as she said this, “c’mon babe, let’s find him something of your man’s.”    
  
Angus accepted the anchors from Barry and helped to place them in the appropriate order, plopping down in the middle with his own stone, pen, and some paper. Rubbing his thumb over it, nervously, he grinned up at Barry; “These smell nice, when’d you make them?”

Barry rubbed the back of his neck and grinned. "A few weeks ago. Remember when I uh... when I spent that weekend working with Noelle? It was a surprise for your Mom." Then he sat opposite Angus, lowering himself slowly to the floor. "Among uh... other things, it means I can actually charge my harness when we go away. So we  _ could _ take longer vacations now, if we wanted to."   
  
Taako came back a moment later with something small held tight in his hand. Then he held it out to Angus. It was a long thin metal bead that had long since been tinted green with time. It bore a scarab with its wings spread wide. "Found this in his bag. He's had it for fuckin' forever as far as I know."

Angus reached for the bead and closed his eyes as soon as his fingers brushed it. The cold moonlight smell of Kravitz’s magic rushed over him, as strong or stronger than if the man was standing next to him. There was a sense of Age too; like he was standing in front of the ocean again and looking at something that had been there for millennia and would continue for longer.    
  
He opened his eyes and blinked, “...yeah, I think it’ll work.”

Barry looked at Lup, uncertain. "I can activate these... Lup, we should probably anchor though and... Keats, come here."   
  
Keats looked up, ears flicking straight up in surprise. "Wait, what? Me?"   
  
He got up, giving Savannah a confused shrug, and then went to join the rest of his family.   
  
Barry grinned. "Come on, Keats, we both know you and Ango have pulled off some wild bullshit before. Don't pretend like you can't do it again, magic or no magic."   
  
Keats opened his mouth and then closed it again, looking grumpy but unable to argue.

Lup sat in front of one of the ward anchors and flapped a hand at Keats until he sat across from her, and Taako sat at the one across from Barry.    
  
Angus looked uncertain for a brief moment before straightening his shoulders and holding the hairpin tightly in his hand. This was his  _ family _ all around him; if nothing else he was  _ safe _ . Slowly he started with his breathing, pulling his power in tight like he’d been taught. Staring at the hairpin, he let his focus float slightly behind his head-    
  
_ There was a trail leading away from his hand; a solid stream of moonlight that felt like cold sand through his fingers _   
  
_ Carefully, he stepped between Barry and Keats, briefly touching his Dad’s shoulder with his free hand as he passed through the wall. _

_The sunlit city around him seemed faded and dull compared to the river of memory and magic he was following. It was hard to split his concentration, but he tried to at least count turns as streets passed under his incorporeal feet_   
  
_Time was odd and it seemed like none at all before he was standing in front of an old building. The living part of it was crumbling and bricked up but the part that Angus could see_ reeked _of wards. Wards anchored in blood._   
  
_he shuddered, not wanting to pass through. Turning, he circled the wards, the stream of light through his fingers always moving to point to the middle of the building foundations._   
  
_he couldn’t get past them like this.... but_ maybe-  
 _he reached out the hand holding the hairpin and touched it to the wards. A jolt went up his arm made of PAIN and the sense of something NOTICING-_  
  
Angus opened his eyes, flat on his back on the hotel room floor.   
“.....Oops.”

Barry's eyebrows shot up at the oops and he offered Angus a hand up. "Find anything, bud?"   
  
Savannah walked over from where she'd been leaning by the window and held out a glass of water. "If your magic's anything like my brother's, you'll need this, monster."   
  
For his part, Taako was silent. He had been silent the entire time Angus was gone, hands clenched tight in the fabric of his pants. It wasn't that he didn't trust Kravitz, it was that he worried. Sure, Taako usually did a good song and dance of pretending that he cared about no one and nothing, that everyone other than his sister was  _ dust. _ But Kravitz had found the way into his heart and Taako loved him deeply. And sometimes that meant worrying when Kravitz ran off on his super secret job, and sometimes that meant late nights alone waiting for a text message with an apology. But this was the first time that that message had never come and it showed in the set of Taako's ears and the way his hands were clenched tight.

Angus took the glass and sat up to gulp water gratefully, not quite meeting anyone’s eyes.    
  
“Mom...what did the wards feel like when you... you visited Kravitz’s work?”    
  
Lup’s ears flicked, her eyes sharpening.   
“Why’d you ask?”    
  
Angus shrugged, not looking at Taako, “-checking something.”   
  
Eyes narrowing, Lup opened her mouth to question more, then hesitated.    
  
“Like... old. Older than the house wards, I think. And they were active and LOOKED at me.” Her ears flicked back, remembering. “It was a heavy sort of feel.”    
  
Angus gulped and DID look at Taako then,    
“He’s um.... I don’t think he’s at an office. There’re wards and they smelled like blood and I, uh....” he winced, “-I touched it and I think it saw me...”

Taako didn't normally express his emotions with his ears. He'd long since trained himself out of it, learned to hide how he was feeling. Except now his ears flicked straight back and were pinned there, except his hands were shaking. "What?"   
  
Keats looked uncomfortable, eyes on the carpet. "Like... the wards were made of blood? Because I know that... I know you can do that."

Angus shrank back into himself at the Look on Taako’s face, not liking his teacher mentor uncle looking  _ lost _ ...   
  
“It...he’s  _ in _ there and it was really-“ he held up the pin, “- this was  _ strong _ , I just couldn’t get in- ...I shouldn’t have touched it, I’m sorry, I didn’t like it...”   
  
Lup scooted forward, one hand reaching out to twine with Taako’s, and stroking the other through Angus’s hair.    
  
“It’s cool, Ango, you did exactly what you set out to do, right? Did you get a feel for  _ where? _ ”    
  
Angus nodded once then again, stronger. Grabbing his pen and the paper, he shut his eyes, trying to visualize.    
  
“I took two turns... there was a train... everything was a bunch older over here...”    
  
Slowly, a line with various landmarks formed under his hand. Lup’s ears twitched back slightly, and she grimaced at Barry over Angus’s head. This might be slightly harder than searching a building across the street.

"Did... did you take the train or just see it?" Barry had pulled out his phone, already pulling up a map of the area. He compared it to the map Angus had drawn, confusion on his face.    
  
Then Keats' eyes went huge and his ears flicked up. He ran back into his room without a word and returned with his tablet, pulling up a satellite map of the area. Setting it down on the floor, he turned it around until he had found the first landmark and started plotting a course. He was muttering quietly to himself while he worked on it, talking about degrees from north and measures of distance. Then he shoved the tablet at Angus. "Is it this place?"

Angus frowned, slowly rotating the picture of the building until the angle was right.    
  
“Yeah!  _ There! _ ” He pointed at a bricked up window, “he’s down in that direction, not up on any of the top floors.”    
  
Lup glanced at Taako, pulling out her phone, “I bet we can get a Lyft to a place nearby and walk from there. Dunno who from his work we could call...”   
  
“I’ll get my kit!” Angus scrambled to his feet and raced for his room.    
  
“NO WAIT-!” Lup scowled and turned to Keats and Savannah, “ _ We’re _ going, you guys are to keep him from getting involved. Blood magic is  _ not _ a joke.”

Taako had disappeared back to his own room the moment Lup had said they could get a Lyft and he grabbed his wand and a few other tools he might just need. And a jacket Kravitz had left behind that was a bit big for Taako but he was wearing it anyway.   
  
Savannah bit her lower lip but then she nodded. "Don't worry, Ma'am. We'll keep Angus out of trouble." She crossed her fingers behind her back. Keats gave her an odd look but then he turned towards their room.    
  
"I'll go make sure he doesn't try to escape. Knowing him, if I don't sit on him, he'll try to get out the window."   
  
Barry normally would've laughed at that but he was focused on packing together his kit. He grabbed one of home anchors and tossed it to Lup. "If things break bad, smash it. That's my backup. Got it?"

Lup’s ears pinned back, but she nodded. When she was finished tossing her kit into her own bag, she looked up to meet Angus’s glare from the bedroom door with her own.    
  
“I said  _ no _ , Angus.”   
  
His scowl went deeper, “you let me  _ find _ him. I can  _ help _ , you know I can!”   
  
Slinging her pack on her shoulder, Lup glared back, “I ‘let’ you do a magical working; warded and surrounded by adults. And you  _ still _ touched something so it knows you now! Surprisingly I’m not super stoked about deliberately putting you somewhere you might get kidnapped a  _ third _ time.”

Keats put a hand on Angus' shoulder. "Come on, we've gotta hold down home base." Then he looked over to where Savannah was still standing. "Right?"   
  
She nodded, a slightly distant look on her face. Then she blinked and her red eyes came back into focus. "That's right. We gotta keep an eye out in case anything else comes up."   
  
Barry hesitated, looking between the kids like he didn't entirely trust the conversation he was listening to. He was used to hearing conversation between siblings and  _ knowing _ he was missing something below the surface and it sounded just like that. But then he shook it off. It was just that he was worried. "Let's go. Sooner we're gone, sooner we get back."

Lup hesitated at the door, briefly wanting to go hug both boys- ...but Angus was now scowling at the floor and it might... they’d be  _ back _ , damn it all to seven different hells. She opened the door and Taako was there, practically vibrating with nerves.    
  
“If we’re not back by- by tonight, call Captain Davenport. But we  _ will _ be. Love you guys-“    
  
As the door closed, Angus threw his backpack on the floor and rounded on Keats,    
  
“I know why  _ they’re _ treating me like a little kid, but why do  _ you _ have to!?”

Keats put a finger to his lips, grinning, and Savannah spoke up, her voice a bare whisper in the room. "We're waiting for  _ our _ ride, monster. My grandfather should be here soon." Then she grinned as well. "I'm his favorite. He's been talking about offering me warlock power if I get all A's next semester. So giving us a ride to a murder house is nothing."


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woof, it's been a hot minute, ey?

Barry drummed his fingers on his thigh the whole ride in the Lyft, even as he monitored their location on the map Keats had made. Every so often, he glanced over at Lup and Taako. Taako was staring out the window, eyes focused and ears pinned back and quivering in barely contained anger.

 

Lup had laced her fingers with Taako’s, her free hand rolling one of Barry’s ward stones along her knee. Occasionally she’d glance at Barry with a hum of tension between them and try to follow it up with false calm. They pulled up to the address she’d given -a block away from the one Angus given- their driver looked at them oddly.    
  
“You... folks know what you’re doing here, right? Meeting someone?”    
  
“Something like that,” Lup briskly swung her pack over her shoulder and flipped him the peace sign. “Thanks for the ride, babe, have a great day.”    
  
He stared at all of them a bit longer, eyes flicking to Taako who had already started striding down the sidewalk.    
  
“...alright. Good luck...”

 

Barry gave the man a smile and then turned, following Taako down the sidewalk. He paused only long enough to reach for Lup's hand as they walked. He was nervous, pulse hammering in his ears. What Keats had said before about wards made of blood was on repeat in his head. If he hadn't seen Edward and Lydia die... if he didn't know their souls had been ripped into shreds, he would think that was what they were walking towards now.   
  
Then he gulped. Whoever they were walking towards, whatever they were walking to... it was as bad or worse than anything Edward and Lydia had ever done.

 

Lup gripped his hand, her other flexing with unused magic. Taako was moving fast enough that they lost sight of him at the turn and nearly ran straight into him as Lup darted around, anxious not to lose him.    
  
Taako was frozen in place, ears up and quivering with anxiety. Lup didn’t have to ask; the miasma of blood wards rolled over  her and she grimaced. The buildings around them looked long abandoned and any squatters would have fled long ago.    
  
“Well that’s...  _ Fuck _ .”    
  


* * *

 

  
Angus rolled one of Barry’s wardstones between his hands and frowned. The closer he got to the boundary of the blood ward the heavier the feeling of it  _ looking _ at him got.    
  
Well. He was looking  _ back _ and he was going to  _ win _ .    
  
“I’m gonna... I’m gonna use this to make a hole and we’re not going to have a lot of time to get through, so be ready.”

 

Keats nodded. He didn't  _ like _ that Angus was taking point like this, but he had to trust his little brother. It wasn't like he could do much until they were actually inside. Savannah was staying behind them, focusing what limited magic she had in a globe of darkness concealed in her hands. The moment they broke through, she'd be ready to drop it if she needed to.   
  
"Sounds good." Keats leaned forward, ready to run in. "Angus, just... be careful, okay? If Mom finds out we didn't listen  _ and _ you get hurt, we're never gonna be allowed out of the house again."

 

“Yeah... yeah, I know-“ Angus took a breath, then another, centering himself. Focusing on the wardstone, the concentrated feeling of _home_ , he shaped his power into a wedge.   
Mom was always using her hands for her magic, saying it was easier to shape how she wanted it without a wand. Taako tended to roll his eyes and say she _could_ do that after a century, but _Angus_ needed to learn control first.   
  
But the lesson still stood; your magic could be what you wanted if you focused _enough_.   
  
Slowly, he walked right up to the boundary line, the point of his magic wedge barely not touching.   
  
And...  
  
He threw the wardstone, feeling the **HOME** magic burst out as it cracked. Grabbing it, he yelped as it was much... it was _much_ more than he thought. Shoving it at his magical wedge he felt the ward crack open.   
Fumbling, he sent another wave of **HOME** at it and the crack widened.   
  
_”NOW! Nownownowno-“_   
  
He pushed his wedge further in as he walked forward, the crack getting bigger to allow the teenagers in.

 

Keats and Savannah stumbled through the crack, Keats reaching back to make sure Angus made it through. Then he looked around. His ears flicked back as the iron tang of blood hit his nostrils and he went pale. Savannah swore, letting the energy she'd been holding dissipate before she grabbed Keats by the arm. She hoped that whoever or whatever was here hadn't realized they were here because she was realizing they'd made a mistake.

Angus coughed as the smell of blood both physical and magical hit his lungs. He clung to Keats’ hand and clutched his wand in the other as he looked at the blocked up windows and doors, frantically.   
  
_”There-!”_   
  
A basement window was cracked and broken, just large enough for, say, a skinny eleven year old to squeeze through without impaling himself.   
  
“We need to break it more...”

 

"How subtle do you want, kiddo? Because I can probably break every window in this place at once.  _ Probably." _ Savannah looked around uncertainly. She couldn't do much, but making a damn entrance was a Tiefling speciality.   
  
At the same time, she was holding tight to Keats, doing her best to keep him grounded. He had squeezed his eyes shut and was quietly reciting his times tables in Elvish, just trying to keep himself calm.

 

Angus hesitated, squeezing his brother’s hand. Shoving his wand in his back pocket, he dug in his front pocket for the bead Taako had given him. Closing his fingers tight over it, he shut his eyes and breathed, focusing on the feeling of cold moonlight and sand.    
  
“I think... yeah, if you do that they might get distracted, but I  _ think _ -“ he frowned, “-he  _ is _ closest to this one...”    
  
He looked uncertainly at Keats.

 

Savannah was also looking at Keats, deeply worried about him. She  _ knew _ he had trouble with blood and yet, here they were. Idiots, the lot of them.    
  
"Alright, I won't do that. But if you go in through there, you're gonna be alone... Me and Keats won't fit."   
  
She glanced up towards the other boarded up windows, trying to find something that might be the right size for them to make it through. Otherwise, they were going to have to find a door. Taking a breath, she looked at Angus. "Think you can get the door open for us?"

 

He bit his lip and looked up and down the wall, before pointing down an alley at an old fire door.    
“I’ll get that open. Push my backpack to me after.”    
  
Taking another breath (of the fetid air) Angus kicked another pane free and scooted feet first into the window.    
  
As he landed in the dim basement, he noticed that the stank of blood lessened.    
Instead...it was replaced by the smell of brimstone.    
  
The shadows over the door at the other side of the basement coalesced into something almost solid and it was  _ looking _ at him.

 

Savannah let go of Keats for long enough to kneel down and toss Angus his backpack. "You good?" She kept her voice low, just a bare whisper. Her worry was starting to spike. Something was very wrong with this place. Wrong enough that someone who had grown up jumping back and forth between the prime material plane and the Nine Hells was feeling anxious about being here.   
The moment she had confirmation that Angus was alright, she grabbed Keats by the hand and started towards that fire door. Hopefully it wouldn't be as bad inside. Hopefully, they could go home soon.

 

Angus slowly picked up his backpack and edged to the door, never looking away from the shadow at the other end of the room. The fire door was locked, but mostly kept upright by rusted together hinges and a wooden crate shoved against it. Angus hesitated; moving the crate would mean looking away from the shadow.    
  
Still moving slowly, he reached behind him to feel the aged lock. His lockpicks wouldn’t do any good on it at all.   
  
“I’m-“ his voice squeaked, and he cleared it, “I’m gonna- gonna move something and then you might have-“ did the shadow move closer? Angus froze.    
  
Nothing moved.    
  
“-mighthavetokickthedoordown.”

 

Keats still had his eyes squeezed shut, he had been trying to do maths to keep his head clear. And then he heard Angus' voice, heard the tremulous note in it, and his head snapped up. Savannah didn't even have a moment to think, to fully process what Angus had even said, before Keats had leaned back and kicked the door as hard as he could. A moment later, he put his shoulder into it and slammed the rest of the way through. Then he turned towards where Angus was looking, settling into a fighting stance.

Angus yelped at the first kick and jumped back at the second, looking away from the shadows to where the door was crumbling over a much moved crate.    
  
“...oh. Okay.”    
  
He looked back and the shadows had  _ definitely _ moved into another position, though still not quite  _ away _ from the other door.    
  
“...I think that’s the door we want, uhm...” he reached back into his pocket and pulled his pen out. Tracing the sign for light, a small globe drifted up over his head, illuminating the outline of a giant bird before it faded against the door with a soft scratching noise.    
  
The smell of brimstone intensified.

 

Savannah raised her head, sniffing the air curiously as she followed Keats at a slightly less... violent... pace. "Does it smell like... demons to anyone else?" She grinned brightly. "Think they're stupid enough to be sacrificing to demons?"   
  
Keats was staring at the shadow on the other side of the room. His ears flicked so one was up and one was down as he took a step forward. "Um... is anyone else seeing an... owl? Sweetheart, are you seeing this?"   
  
Savannah turned to follow his gaze and blinked a few times. "Yep... Great horned owl, I think? A really... really big one?"

There was a lot of Not Moving from the shadowed area.    
Angus took a step forward and his light bobbed with him, showing the silhouette of an owl almost larger than HIM before it seemed to separate and disperse around the door. Slowly, he kept walking forward until the whole door was illuminated-   
  
The shadowed owl coalesced above him and dropped with a bone chilling  _ SCREECH- _

 

Savannah threw an arm up to block her face and jammed her other hand over her mouth to keep from screaming. Then she blinked a few times, red eyes shining with the reflected light of Angus' spell. "What the...?"   
  
Keats surged forward, more than ready to go on the offensive. He didn't know why there was a great horned owl in here and he didn't really care. If it thought it could eat  _ his _ little brother, then it was very wrong.

 

Angus dropped backwards, trying to get his wand up and mind going blank of any of the personal warding spells he knew.    
  
The shadowed owl; focused on Angus and his magic- ignored Keats right up until the boy’s fist punched into the impression of feathers in the darkest region of its ‘body’.   
  
The bone chilling screech cut off at the end and the shadow was pushed back against the wall next to the door. Flailing a bit, it tried to disperse and coalesce elsewhere.

 

"Hah! Take that!" Keats stayed focused on it. "Keep going, I'll keep this thing busy. Whatever it is."   
  
Savannah was staring at it and then she sniffed the air again. It really did smell like sulfur in here. Almost like when she visited... "Grandfather?"

 

Angus scrambled to his feet, clutching his pen and staring at the flapping shadow wings.    
  
At the sound of Savannah’s voice, the shadow seemed to freeze and disperse completely. A darkness pooled in front of her and swirled up into the clearest shape of an owl yet. It hissed something in Infernal that Angus didn’t quite catch except the word for ‘spawn’.

 

Savannah stood just a bit straighter, confusion on her face. Then she licked her lips and answered in as confident a voice as she could manage. "Savannah Abrax'eisl."   
  
Keats stared at the owl thing and then at Savannah. "Sweetie, is the demon owl thing talking to you? Is... is it a friendly demon owl thing?" He wasn't entirely sure still, staying in a defensive position and staying in front of Angus.

 

The owl shivered, seeming almost to glitch in the air, before nodding at Savannah and flying up to the ceiling where it vanished into the murky beams.    
  
Angus stared at where it went, then at Savannah.    
  
“...so can we walk through the door now?”

 

"I.... think the people here summoned something that's from my Grandpa's domain. And... I'm about 80% sure that was Infernal for  _ fuck this noise." _ Then she gestured towards the door. "Let's go, boys."   
  
Keats hesitated but in the end, he let Angus go first. He didn't like it, but he did know that Angus was a lot sneakier than he was.

 

Angus had a white knuckled grip on his pen, running through the personal ward spells he had that he could think of  _ now _ that he wasn’t being attacked by a demonic summons. He was starting to think that maybe Mom had been right and  _ maybe _ possibly he sorta wasn’t exactly old enough for this.    
  
Well, too late to back down.    
  
The door led down a dark, twisting staircase, with a flickering light at the bottom as they made the second turn. There was; almost predictably- a stone walled hallway lit by what LOOKED like flickering torches. On closer inspection they were more similar to the fake charm candles restaurants used to keep their guests from setting fires.    
  
The farther down the hall they went, the tenser Angus got. The smell of blood and old stone, mold and damp leaves, and pain against his nose like a winter day that’s too cold to snow were all he could focus on.    
  
His footsteps flagged slightly, keeping back to be next to Keats.

 

The moment the smell of blood had hit Savannah again, she had grabbed Keats' hand again. He would be alright, she hoped. He just needed to stay grounded. At least, that had worked for them in the past.    
  
There were doors along the hallway, each one closed with flickering light showing from underneath. Keats was on high alert, his eyes darting back and forth. Then his ears flicked forward. He could hear something nearby, something not too far. Something that sounded distinctly like chanting. It wasn't a language he recognized, which was saying something. Keats had heard a lot of languages in his life and this absolutely wasn't one of them.   
  
"Any ideas?"

 

“Um...” Angus did his best not to gulp or tremble or any of the other half dozen ways of showing fear and uncertainty that came to mind. Briefly he  _ really _ hoped that Mom and Dad were almost here and that he could think up a way to get them all Not Killed until then.    
“Sneak in until we see what’s going on?”    
  
His voice squeaked on the last syllable.    
  
From down the hall the chanting stopped and a drawling voice rose in the ensuing silence.    
  
“Ah, you can  _ see _ us again, Anpu; welcome back!”

 

Keats raised a finger to his lips and then edged forward, pushing the door open. Inside stood a circle of hooded and robes individuals, each holding a candle or a wand, standing around a complex spell circle the likes of which the kids had never seen before. Standing in the center of the circle, mild annoyance clear on his face and his arms crossed over his chest, was Kravitz. The air in the circle seemed to waver, almost like the air over the black top in heat of summer.   
  
He pinched the bridge of his nose, eyes closed as he took a breath.   
  
“Must we do this? I don’t have the time for your idiotic games. I just want my fellow agents back and then we can be done here.”

There was a beat while the hooded figures seemed to shift uncomfortably, and the one facing Kravitz folded his arms. Angus thought he might be glaring.    
  
“Your minions are serving the greater good! Through their sacrifice this world will be made a  _ better _ place, and with  _ you _ gone, Anpu, we shall be free of the  _ tyranny _ of mortality!”    
  
Angus tore his gaze away from the robed figures and glanced around the room instead. It was an old basement that seemed to have been converted just enough to be comfortable but... well, there were signs that someone really liked the Look.    
  
There were more fake torches, and cobwebs filled the corners;but the whole floor had been swept clean and Angus was almost POSITIVE he saw a portable coat rack across the spell circle.

Keats mouthed 'Anpu' and then looked at Angus with a shrug. Then he pointed towards the knife in the leader's hand. Then he blanched as he realized it was covered in blood, steadily dripping onto the floor. It had to be fresh. The moment he realized that, he grabbed Angus and pulled him back. They had  _ absolutely _ made a mistake.   
  
Kravitz seemed to have also noticed the knife and his frown deepened.  _ "Jenkins, _ what did you do?" Anger crept into his tone then as he looked around the room, suddenly reaching out towards the barrier that held him in. Red lightning sparked out of the barrier and Kravitz pulled his hand back, grimacing in pain. "Where are they?"

 

The robed figure- Jenkins?-seemed pleased to have drawn some actual anger from Kravitz.    
  
“Why... all  _ around _ us!” He gestured grandly with the dripping knife, flicking droplets of blood at the barrier keeping Kravitz in.    
“The woman, Lillian, guards the building, and paid for a sentry. And as for Megara, well...”    
  
He nodded to one of the robed figures holding a candle. They set it down and moved towards the door the kids were hiding behind.    
  
“-we need  _ something _ to open the Doorway.”

 

Kravitz snarled and threw himself at the barrier then, eyes glowing red with his anger. The next thing he spat was in another language, one that the children had never heard him speak. When the red lightning shot through him again, he pulled back, burns criss-crossing his hands and arms. For a moment, the room smelled almost like burning dog fur but then Kravitz's skin rippled and the burns healed over.    
  
Keats pulled Angus further back, whispering as quietly as he could. "We need Mom and Dad and we need them  _ now. _ We can't handle this." Then he gestured towards one of the doors and pushed it open. They could hide in there, hopefully. Once the three of them were tucked into a corner, Savannah set a hand on the floor and dropped an opaque globe of darkness around them. They wouldn't be able to see out, but no one else would be able to see in. And it was all the defensive magic she had.

  
Angus nodded, trying not to show how close he was to crying as Keats pulled him in. There was the sound of the door opening just as Savannah dropped her darkness and footsteps past them. Another door and Angus smelled more magic and an additional set of footsteps back to the ceremony chamber.    
  
Before the door closed again, there was the sound of a woman’s voice, tired and oddly accented.    
  
“Sorry about this, boss. They got Lillian when I was supposed to be watching her back-“    
  
The door snapped shut and all the voices became far away and muffled.   



	19. Chapter 19

Lup stalked up and down the sidewalk in front of the building, probing lightly at the seams of the ward, not wanting to touch it but unable to keep herself from testing.    
  
It was more than just a solid piece of work, it was  _ nasty _ , and she wasn’t sure if it wouldn’t latch hooks into her magic and pull if she wasn’t careful. Growling, she turned off the main sidewalk and down a side alley, still poking

 

Barry was drumming his fingers on his thigh as he walked, pulse hammering in his ears. He felt more and more sick the closer he got to the building. Then he suddenly stopped, squeezing his eyes shut. He didn't know what exactly, but something very bad had just happened, something that cut through him and left him colder than cold. He felt dizzy, nauseous even. And then it passed again, leaving him with just a dull ache at the back of his head.   
  
And that was when he spotted the open door behind the wards. And in front of it, an area of weakened spell. Something had crossed the wards forcibly here. "Lup, Taako. Look that this. Do you uh..." He clenched his jaw for a moment, another wave of Something shooting through him. "Do you think Kravitz did this?"

 

Lup shot him a worried look, feeling  _ something _ across their connection, but was distracted as Taako moved forward, squinting at the area Barry had pointed at.    
  
“Nah, that’s uh-“ he grimaced, ears flattening, “....that’s Ango’s work.” Gesturing at the door, he looked at Lup. “At a guess, I’d say that’s your boy’s doing.”    
  
Lup’s eyebrows snapped together with an almost audible click.    
  
“I’m going to put them on  _ picket _ lines when we get home.”

 

"I think I'm gonna throw up." Barry really didn't sound very good. "Lup, there's... there's something going on in there and I can... feel it? It's not... not good. We need to get in there."   
  
He took a breath and then started focusing on the wards. He could feel the edges of them and the weakened part had tears, like little hand holds he could string his power through and pull. He knew it wouldn't feel great but he was willing to deal with that later if he meant that the nausea would end sooner. Grabbing the wards, he pulled them apart and nodded for them to go through. "I'll be right behind you."

Lup gritted her teeth and pushed through, twining her power through Barry’s and sending heat at the wards, trying to singe the edges. With any luck it would make them easier to get through if they couldn’t take them down-    
  
-No, they  _ would _ tear them to shreds once they were inside. She would see to  _ that _ .   
  
She could feel traces of Angus the moment the three of them stepped into the building, leading straight to the basement door. And now she could feel something  _ unsettling _ running along her arms and setting the hairs on the back of her neck to prickling.    
Taako’s ears were flat and his hand clenched around his wand, which is probably why he was quicker on the draw when the shadow of a giant owl formed in front of the door and  _ screeched _ at them.

 

Barry instinctively raised his hand and called up at a shield in front of them like Taako had spent so long drilling him on before. Then he looked at Lup with mild panic in his eyes. If there was one thing in his afterlife he was very not into, it was Shadow  _ Things. _ Especially when they appeared out of nowhere and making screeching noises. The fact that it looked like a great horned owl was entirely irrelevant to the part of Barry’s mind that just saw the Parasite.

 

Three bolts of light erupted from Taako’s wand, hitting the center of the shadowed owl, which changed the pitch of its screech considerably.    
  
Lup snarled a challenge and threw a fireball at the base of the shadow, throwing it into sharp relief against the wall.    
  
Keening distress, the shadow pushed itself against the door and seemed almost to scuttle up into the dim ceiling beams, muttering what Lup was  _ sure _ were swear words.

 

Barry went pale for a moment and then the nausea passed. Somehow... that was worse. It  _ could _ have just been that retreating creature making him feel sick, but he was pretty sure it wasn't. There was something happening in this building, something very, very bad. But he moved past the creature and started heading up a flight of stairs, pulling out his worn antenna wand as he went. It only took a flick to extend it and he gripped it tightly around the end he'd wrapped in leather just to make it a bit kinder on his fingers.    
  
And that was when they heard the snarl of pure rage at the end of the hall. "Do you have  _ any _ idea what you're doing? Even,  _ even, _ if you do kill me, don't you realize that her sisters will pursue you to the end of time?" It was unmistakably Kravitz and he was furious and near panic all at once, raw power crackling off of him as he strained against the circle that was holding him.

Taako’s ears shot straight up and he took two running steps forward before Lup caught his arm and pulled him back. Holding a finger up to her lips, she gestured both men to the end of the hallway so they could all see into the room without quite being noticed.    
  
The circle of robed figures around Kravitz’s containment had opened slightly to allow-    
  
Lup blanched, ears going back. A woman, laid out so blood was starting to pool into the lines of the circle, nearly at Kravitz’s feet. She was making high, gasping noises from pain that didn’t sound human. Taako was shaking next to her, hands tight in fists.    
  
“And I will  _ have _ all of time, Anpu! By her sacrifice-“    
  
It was general Twin Law  ™ that Lup surged forward and Taako held still to watch her back. Which is why Lup was  _ not _ ready when Taako broke away, spinning his umbrella wand in a complicated circle as he strode into the chamber.    
  
“What the  _ fuck _ is up, my dudes? I think you have something that belongs to  _ me _ -“    
  
The umbrella tip left lines of light around Taako, shaping into an almost exoskeleton, then expanding outwards. In a half second, Taako’s form could barely be seen through the forming shape of a t-Rex.    
  
_ ”-And I want him back!” _

 

Kravitz looked up at the sound of Taako's voice, a tender smile immediately on his face. Then he turned back to Jenkins, his smile turning vindictive. "Jenkins, have you met my fiancé, Taako?" He moved back, mindful of the circle still holding him but wanting to give Taako room to work.   
  
Barry pulled back as he saw the ritual, the circle, the woman. The circle made him feel dizzy when he tried to focus on it and he didn't want to get closer to it. He looked at Lup and then hesitated again. Taako would need help, but they knew the kids were here and they needed to find them too. "Lup, stay with Taako, okay? I'm gonna find the kids."

 

Lup nodded, one of her hands catching fire, still focused on Jenkins, who had turned just in time to be knocked into the wall by Taako’s semi-solid T-Rex head.    
  
“Got it; love you, babe-“ she threw the fireball in a half circle to keep the rest of the robed cultists from scattering. “-might need your help getting Krav out of that after-  _ EAT SHIT, FUCKO! _ ”

 

Barry didn't have to search long. The moment Savannah had heard their voices, she had dropped the magical darkness that obscured them from sight. Keats was shaking, eyes wide and staring straight ahead. She was the one who shouted, squeezing Keats' hand tightly. "Mr. Bluejeans! We're in here."   
  
Barry pulled the door open and swore under his breath. "Is everybody okay?"   
  
Keats didn't respond.

 

Angus had scrambled to his feet the moment Barry walked in, darting forward and slamming against his Dad’s waist to cling there and mutter apologies.

 

Barry hugged Angus tightly, relieved the kids were unhurt. Then he looked over at Savannah who was trying to help Keats to his feet. She looked worried and she couldn't quite support his weight. Barry looked at the three of them uncertain and then took a breath. "Alright... Angus, can you do something for me? I'm gonna go help your Mom and Taako get Kravitz, can you help Savannah get Keats outside? If you don't think you can, that's okay. We'll figure out something else."

 

Angus took a breath, squeezing tighter around Barry’s waist as he inhaled the cold iron smell of magic that was a part of Home, and nodded. He’d gotten them into this mess, and he was responsible for getting them out.    
  
“I- I can do that. Is the ward down?”

 

Barry took a breath, feeling out for the wards. He reached until he expected to brush against the feeling of blood and then kept going. Nothing, it was gone. Good. Either two people breaking through it had shattered it or else Taako had killed the spellcaster. He didn't particularly care which.    
  
"I think so, bud." Then he smiled. "Good job on the wards, by the way. But uh... next time your mom and I say to stay home, listen, alright?"

Angus’s shoulders went up and he pulled away,    
  
“I know...Mom’s mad, right?”    
  
He walked to Keats’ other side and looped an arm around his waist, still clutching his wand.    
  
“We’ll- we’ll wait out on the street.”

 

Barry paused for a moment, about to move to go back to Lup. Then he paused.   
  
"I can't speak for her, but... I'm not mad. Scared, sure, but not mad. You're great at magic, Angus. Never think we don't know that. But... but neither of us want you to get hurt and sometimes... some of this stuff is bigger than you can handle. I'll be real with you, some of this is bigger than I can handle."   
  
He waited another moment and then turned to run to catch up with Lup and Taako.   
  
Kravitz was still trapped in the circle and his efforts to force his magic against it had only resulted in more burns criss-crossing his skin only to vanish again a moment later. Trying to fight the circle was draining on him, even as the cultists broke and ran, even as Taako and Jenkins fought. When he reached out again, his control over his normal magics flickered and his suit faded away to be replaced with a faded, off-white kilt in the Egyptian style and a pair of sandals. That was when he dropped to his knees.

Taako’s T-Rex construct was solid enough to act as both shield and weapon, and he definitely had the upper hand as he crowded Jenkins against the wall. Lup had caught several of the cultists in a cage of fire, weaving threads of it together with her wand to keep it self sustaining before turning to Kravitz’s cage.    
  
She was scowling at a section of the circle as Barry came in,    
  
“Hey babe, I think I’m going to need a boost on this one.”

 

Barry hung back a bit, not wanting to get near that cage or near the woman on the ground. But he could move close enough to put his hands on Lup's hips and focus his magic through their bond and into her. It came buoyed with the rage and fear that was keeping him focused and keeping him from looking at this ritual, this body, this blood knife, and seeing something else, somewhere else. He could hold it together for her, for Taako and Kravitz, for the kids. That was all he needed to manage. He could deal with the rest later when it was just the two of them, when he knew everyone was safe.   
  
"Gotcha."

  
Lup inhaled sharply as Barry’s power flooded and twisted around hers; the staticky cling of it buoying her up until she felt  _ immense _ .    
The circle holding Kravitz was written in old signs; older than anything she’d ever seen, but the age of them sank into the ground. The lines were drawn in blood and some combination of herbs she couldn’t unpick, and didn’t want to. Sending heat rippling over it, trying to scrape the runes up did nothing on her first try, and Lup gritted her teeth, twisting her magic into a new shape.    
  
“Bro, Ima need you on this one! Stop playing with the dark lord and come help me set your boy free.”

Taako slammed Jenkins into the wall one last time and dispelled the t-rex shape that surrounded him. Then he moved to stand next to Lup, holding her hand tightly. He offered his magic, reaching out with it to join it with the power Lup was already wielding. It really was a mess, this circle. It was vile and corrosive, leaving Taako feeling like he wanted to find a way to wash his magic.   
  
"Hold on tight, Bones. We'll have you out in a minute." Then he paused. "Any other shitty exes you should tell me about?"   
  
Kravitz looked ashen but he smiled up at Taako from where he still knelt on the hard wood. "He's not my ex, love. Not my type."

 

“Oh a  _ stalker _ \- even worse,” Lup twisted her power with Taako’s and again with Barry’s before threading it back to her brother.    
Grimacing, he poured their combined magics along the pathways of the circle; Barry’s boosting Lup’s to burn out the power of blood, and his own to shift the runes where the circle met the prone form of Meg. The interrupted and unused ritual at that end of Kravitz’s containment was enough to drive a wedge into and break the circle.    
  
The bubble winked out.

 

Kravitz stumbled to his feet, looking utterly exhausted. It was like he had no reserves left after the ordeal of the day. Taako didn’t even hesitate, he was already running to Kravitz and pulled him into a kiss.    
  
Barry took a moment to make sure his power was properly contained back inside his skin before he reached for Lup’s hand. “Come on, babe. The kids should be outside by now. Keats is a mess and... I’ll be real, I don’t think Ango’s much better.” He paused, realizing how that sounded. “They’re not hurt. Just...” He gestured back at the room.

 

Lup leaned into him, trusting to the strength in Barry’s shoulders and his tendency to cheat at physics if that wasn’t enough.    
  
“Fuck, it’s almost like I told’m to leave this to US so they didn’t get hurt or traumatized, who knew?”    
  
Sighing, she looked over at Kravitz who was resting his forehead heavily against Taako’s shoulder and murmuring something that had her brother’s ears turning pink. Seeing he was taken care of, she hurried over to the woman on the ground, sparks of fire burning through her restraints.    
  
“Babe, help me move her off this thing. Hey, uh, death god brother...she needs help, should we go outside before you call for a cleanup crew?”   
  
There was a choking sound from where Taako had thrown Jenkins; Lup had  _ hoped _ he was thoroughly dead, since legs shouldn’t bend like that, but it seemed he was still hanging in despite it all.

 

"That would... be advisable, I think. That includes you, love. Unfortunately."   
  
Kravitz pressed a kiss to Taako's forehead and then reached towards the pocket of a suit he was no longer wearing. He spat a word in a language Barry didn't recognize and then sighed, holding his hand out.   
  
"Could I borrow someone's phone?"

 

Lup eyed him as she reached for hers, “do I get it back...?” But Taako was already pushing his into Kravitz’s hand, unwilling to stop touching him yet.    
  
There was another sound from Jenkins, and Lup rounded on him, happy for a chance to use up more of her pent up worry.    
  
“Can’t you finish  _ dying _ already?”    
  
Jenkins choked a laugh, turning a bloody face to look past her to Kravitz;    
  
“This... it’s not over, Anpu... it never will be-“    
  
As the animated of life drained from his face, a black mist rose out of the man’s body, curling briefly into a vaguely rat-like shape before sinking into the ground.

 

Barry watched the mist faded into the floor and then turned, putting his hands up as he walked out.   
  
"Nope! I'm done. No more spooky death cults for me. I'm gonna... I'm going outside and I'm dealing with parenting. It makes so much more sense."

 

Kravitz gave a tired laugh and kissed Taako again before gently directing him towards Lup. She took her brother’s hand and pulled him towards the exit, ears flicking back as she heard Kravitz begin his phone conversation with “Raven, it was  _ Jenkins _ again-“    
  
Angus was sitting on the pavement outside, pressed against Keats and watching the heat waves drift off the unsettlingly quiet street in front of them.    
He looked up as they came out and bit his lip at the look on Lup’s face.    
  
“It was my fault, Mom, I’m sorry. I know I’m in trouble-“    
  
Lup flopped down on his other side and pulled both her boys into a tight hug.    
“Oh you’re  _ deffo _ both grounded for a fuckin’ long time, but just- just shut up for a minute, Ango, alright?” Running her hand over his braids, she tugged Keats closer.

 

Savannah stood up, a guilty look on her face and her tail flicking back and forth nervously. "I'm sorry. It's... It's my fault. I'm the one who asked Grandpa for a lift and... and..."   
  
Barry shook his head and hugged her around the shoulders. "We're not gonna go play the blame game, kiddo." He tried to give her some support. He knew that what happened had scared all three of them badly and Savannah had certainly seen Keats have an anxiety attack before, but this was so much worse than usual. Keats was sobbing silently, eyes red-rimmed and his whole body still shaking. It was so, so much worse.   
  
Taako watched them for a long moment and then shrugged. "Krav said he'd call us a ride back to the hotel. I'm also like 90% sure they're gonna burn this place to the fuckin' ground. So..."

  
“Oh good, I’d love to see that...” Lup shifted, her legs going numb from the combined weight of both boys. “So today is a crap shoot and I feel like I need to bleach my magic. I’m ordering dwarven curry.”    



	20. Chapter 20

Lup was unsurprised when a trio of darkly tinted vans pulled up some ten minutes later as Kravitz walked out of the building. As the doors opened, a series of seemingly mismatched people piled out, all dressed in somber colors and moving efficiently.   
  
An orc woman who may have had giant in her background walked up to them and jabbed a thumb at a now empty van.   
  
“Boss man says you folks need a lift back?” Her voice had a lilting accent, almost as if she was ready to sing at any moment.   
Lup nodded and pushed the boys up, wincing as feeling came back into her knees.   
“Right, yeah...think you could stop for food on our way there?”   
  
The woman eyed her, but shrugged.   
“In this case? Yes.” She paused. “...I am Róta, and... we’re all grateful you kept the boss existing.”

 

Barry’s eyes grew wider and wider as the woman approached, something between fear, awe, and respect on his face. He averted his eyes as she spoke and didn’t entirely breathe until they were all in the van. He knew perfectly well what that woman was, could feel it in his bones. And it was terrifying.  
  
But she drove them back to the hotel without a comment about the look on his face. She also made sure they got their dinner, paying for it on a company card. When they finally reached the hotel, she gave him a knowing smile just before she drove off.   
  
Barry finally took a breath as she sped off down the street and then he looked at the rest of his family.   
  
“So... dinner and then sleep for literally the uh... until tomorrow?”   
  
Keats shook his head a little.   
  
“I’m gonna call Winifred first. Then sleep.”

Angus, who hadn’t stopped leaning against at least one adult the entire trip, stared at the bags of food and knew he needed to eat and couldn’t really make himself take those steps.   
  
“Ms. Silver isn’t really qualified for this one, Mom.”   
  
Lup sighed and wrapped an arm around him as she led their party to the elevators.   
  
“Yeah...I’ll ask Winifred for a referral when Keats is done, kiddo.” Reaching put her other hand for Taako, she made sure to direct him to _their_ room.   
  
It was a slow meal, with everyone taking turns in the shower and picking at their food. Slowly the blankets and pillows migrated out to the common room couch and arranged into a nest.   
  
It was a little past midnight and even Keats had fallen asleep by the time Lup was woken to see Taako padding to the door and letting Kravitz in. She closed her eyes again, sleepily resigned to not having her brother there when she woke up. So she was surprised when a few minutes later the edge of the pillow fort was reclaimed, with Kravitz pushed between Angus and Taako and summarily trapped for the night.

* * *

 

 

When Barry woke up in the dim light of pre dawn, he had one hand jammed in his mouth in a desperate effort not to scream from the nightmares that had woken him. Lup was right there though, and the boys and Savannah and Taako and Kravitz. And that certainly helped, but it didn't mean he wasn't still shaking. It didn't mean his mind wasn't swamped with images from yesterday and images from his basement fifty years overlapping, blurring, and combining in awful ways. In the end, he shifted out of the pillow fort, hoping he wouldn't wake anyone, and silently padding to the bathroom to wash his face and try to breathe. If he broke down and started sobbing in the bathroom, that would be alright. But he couldn't out there, not in front of the kids.

 

Lup opened her eyes, her heart pounding at Something. Lifting her head (and wincing at the crick in her neck that said she had gotten far too used to sleeping in a bed rather than wherever she could.)  
Sitting up, she took a roll call in the tangle of limbs;   
Taako flopped against her back, pressed against Kravitz who had an arm around Angus. Keats to her OTHER side, Savannah curling all five limbs around him and- lack of Barry between her and Keats.   
  
The nervous tension at the back of her mind was suddenly obviously NOT hers, and she slid away from Taako, who grumbled and sprawled out more into the warmth she’d left behind.   
  
The bathroom door being closed decided her, and she knocked quietly. “Babe? Barry, it’s me.”

 

Barry opened the door, wiping his eyes on his hand. He gave her a little uncertain smile.   
"Did I wake you?"   
  
It couldn't have been any more obvious that he'd been in here crying if he'd tried. He'd shoved the thin rug out of the way before and there was a balled up towel shoved against the side of the tub where he had obviously been sitting. His eyes were red and his face pale.   
  
"Sorry, Lup, I just..." Then he took a breath. "Nightmares, that's all."

 

Lup hummed noncommittally and took Barry’s hand, pulling him the few feet to the door of their room which she shut behind him.   
“You did text Merle?”   
  
Internally she was kicking herself, too wrapped up in her and Taako’s panicked need to have all their people within sight, she’d skipped right over Barry; thinking what settled _her_ would transfer over to him.

 

"Yeah... Yeah.... He called me three kinds of an idiot for just _running in there_ instead of thinking first and then told me to uh... to do the breathing exercises and stuff."   
  
He let her lead him out of the bathroom and then paused to scrub at his face.   
  
"They helped. I just... I uh... I didn't think to text him until this morning. I was too wrapped up in making sure the kids were okay last night and... and everything else... And... and that was a _Valkyrie,_ Lup. A Valkyrie." He scrubbed at his face again. "I know what my mother told me about them growing up and... Can I just say that I would like very much to _never_ get a ride from a Valkyrie ever again?"

 

“She was a better driver than me, I’ll say that,” The joke was weak and Lup’s voice was thin, as she nudged Barry onto the bed and wrapped around him. Burying her face in his shoulder she exhaled long and steady, trying to radiate warm affection. Calm was... out of reach. “S’all stupid. Not scouting out ahead, not taping Angus to a chair, not... I dunno, _making_ Kravitz tell us what the fuck was up.” She pulled a face. “You know, I’m still not sure I want to remember all that... that stuff that was said. We’re going to be _related_ after all...”

 

Barry couldn't help but smile at that. Then he actually laughed,"You know, babe. I think... I think Taako finally managed to win in the game of who's more goth. I may be a ghost, but he's marrying Death. I don't know that there's anything more goth than that."  
  
He kissed her lightly and then pressed his forehead against hers with a soft sigh, "It's stupid too... feeling guilty about it? We all made it out alright and... the kids are... They'll be alright eventually. I just... The nightmares were _stupid._ Mixing yesterday with what Edward did. That's all. And I should be able to deal with that. I just didn't know how to deal with it with everybody there."

 

_”Babe-“_ Lup smacked the side of his head lightly, “you’re doing that stupid fifties ‘men don’t have emotions’ bullshit.”   
Peppering kisses across Barry’s face, Lup wrapped herself as tightly around him as she physically could, and felt her magic reach out along the threads of their bond to do the same. “Just... just a lot of trauma, so naturally your brain mixes it up, that’s how it _works_...” Burying her face in Barry’s shoulder, Lup clung-perhaps a little harder than needed.

 

Barry pulled her closer, his arms wrapped around her waist. "Technically, I'm doing that stupid fifties 'men can't show emotions in front of their children' thing. Which might be worse? Jury's out on that one."   
  
He clung just as hard. Yesterday had been... it had been awful. Out of all the stupid, insane, ridiculous, dangerous things they'd done together since they'd met, that one had to take the cake.   
  
Leaning in, he kissed her lightly. Then he smiled. "I'll be alright, Lup. Promise. And the boys're gonna be fine too." Then he kissed her nose. "How about you? How are you dealing with all of that?"

 

Ears going back, Lup pressed her nose into his cheek, visibly sorting through herself.   
“...Angry? Yeah... yeah that covers most of it. Like- first of all, _thanks_ mister dark lord whatever, chasing Kravitz across the ages for fuckin’ up yet _another_ family vacation.” She shook her head, still twining their magic and limbs  as tight as she could.   
“And... and _shit..._ I shouldn’t _have_ to- to have my kids come out traumatized for them to- to _listen_ on the rare occasions we both give a fuckin’ order, like-“   
Lup’s ears were flat against her skull, voice turned into a growl.

 

"You're allowed to be angry. Even at the kids... Honestly? I'm disappointed they didn't listen to us, I'm mad that this whole thing _happened,_ and... I'm kind of proud of them? Which probably isn't the best thing... but... By all rights, they shouldn't have been able to pull that off. And they did."   
  
He kissed her forehead. He hadn't felt entirely right before but now, tangled as close to her as he could be.   
"Talk to the boys, let them know we're upset about what they did. And I'll make sure Savannah knows we're gonna tell her parents."

 

“Yeah... yeah, okay...” Lup pushed her face into Barry’s shoulder and sighed, letting her anger float to the back of her head to deal with later. For now she let herself drift on the tides of their shared affection, enjoying the press of Barry’s hands and the feeling of him leeching off her body heat. “Might as well- as well get used to this ...seems like something or other of the kind is just- just gonna keep happening to us on a regular basis cause _that’s_ the kind of people this weird ass family _are_ , I guess….”   
  
Her intentions warmed briefly, wanting to curl against him and get closer still, but the sound of Taako’s voice mixed with Angus’s still piping tones made her sigh and start to unravel herself. 

 

“-Aaaaaaand we should think about breakfast, even if we all feel like death warmed over...”

 

"I don't know that I feel like death warmed over, exactly. More like death who is a bit chilly and slept on a floor. But the sentiment stands,” came Kravitz’s voice in response.  
  
Barry sighed and kissed Lup once more. "Come on, babe. Up we go." Instead of shifting to let her up, he shifted his hold and lifted her as he stood, a smile on his face. "What were we thinking for food? Any particular plan or just... whatever?"   
  
Keats and Savannah were still asleep, though Keats' ear flicked at the mention of food. Even so, he didn't move his very comfortable Little Spoon position.

 

“Whatever feeds everyone with the least amount of fuss,” Lup leaned her forehead against Barry’s, drinking in his solid presence before easing off his lap. “And by ‘everyone’ I mainly mean Keats.”   
  
Angus woke up disoriented and stiff, finding himself curled against the cold moonlight smell of Kravitz. There were...unpleasant dreams he could almost remember having, but the brief squeeze Kravitz gave him meant that those memories were much less real than the here and now.   
  
When Barry and Lup wandered out of their room, hand in hand, Angus forced himself to stand up and poke a toe into Keats’ thigh;   
  
“C’mon, [big brother], s’breakfast.

 

Keats swatted at Angus half-heartedly, even the siren song of food not quite enough to convince him to move out of Savannah’s arms. But then Savannah sat up and rubbed at her eyes sleepily.  
  
“Can we get happy pancakes?” She half mumbled it, not entirely awake.   
  
Taako snorted at the question and reached for his phone where Kravitz had left it.   
  
“Fuck it, we’re in DC... I bet there’s a fucking IHOP here somewhere. How’s that sound, Lup? We can watch your kids eat their body weight in shitty pancakes.”

 

“Sounds _perfect_ ,” Lup wrapped her free arm around Angus’s shoulders and eyed Kravitz. “You coming or is there more cleanup to do?”   
  
Angus leaned into her, also glancing up at Kravitz, “we were doing the zoo, right?”

 

Kravitz laughed almost nervously. "No, no, they have that quite under control. I've been... _informed_ that I need to take several weeks off from work following this incident."   
  
Savannah pulled Keats to his feet and he stretched. Then he looked over at Lup. "Can I take a shower first, Mom? Or do we not have enough time?"   
  
Barry went to his bag to grab clean clothes. "Yeah, Ango. We're still doing the zoo. If you think I'm missing out on my chance to uh... to see a _unicorn,_ then you've got another thing coming."

 

Lup flapped a hand at Keats, “I have _no_ intention of rushing through today. The theme is Fuck It.”   
  
Even with only two bathrooms, it was barely an hour before their group piled out of the hotel, deciding to walk the three blocks to a carefully upscale _looking_ IHOP instead of waiting for a car.   
  
It didn’t escape Lup’s attention that the three kids didn’t walk too far ahead or behind the main group, and Taako was practically chained to Kravitz’s arm. Conversation was stilted when it wasn’t about which exhibits they wanted to see at the zoo, everyone dancing around yesterday’s events and what it all...meant.   
  
Angus discovered his appetite again when confronted by a stack of waffles smothered in fruit and whipped cream, and felt human again halfway through. Which is probably why he pinned Kravitz with a hard stare and asked; “Do you have _other_ family?”

 

Kravitz paused, fork halfway to his mouth. He looked momentarily startled but set his fork back down, "I have a sister. And a nephew." He paused then, briefly contemplating exactly how to explain that his sister gave birth to a jackal wielding knives. Then he decided to just... not. "I've had other families along the way but, it's been... oh, a century or so."

 

Angus absorbed this and took another bite of his waffles. Interrogating Kravitz about his job in a public place was probably not the best move. Still... “Is she coming to the wedding?”   
  
Taako cut in at that one, “She gets an invite and encouragement to bring baby pics.”   
  
Lup snorted into her glass, and reached a hand out to tug Angus’s braids affectionately.

 

"We've been over this, love, I don't _have_ baby pictures." He squeezed Taako's hand under the table, a smile on his face. "Though, she may be able to manage something... Anita is..." Pause. "Creative."   
  
Keats leaned forward, curious. "Is that her real name? And how come you go by Kravitz if you're-"   
  
Savannah elbowed him before he could finish the sentence and Keats' ears flicked up. "Sweetie, you don't ask people whether something is their real name or not."   
  
"Right... right... Sorry, Uncle Kravitz."

 

Kravitz merely raised an eyebrow and sipped his coffee. “They’re our names _now_ .”   
  
Lup leaned back in her chair, scrolling absently through her phone, and watching Taako while both boys kept asking Kravitz questions. He was _relaxed_ ; ears pricked happily, hands waving in dramatic gestures, and occasionally leaning over to give Kravitz loud kisses on the cheek. Lup smirked and pretended to pay more attention to her phone. After all, Kravitz was still the same, they just now knew more about his KIND of weird. And he was family.   
  
The waiter came by with more water and the check just as Angus asked,   
“But how do _you_ have a boss?” Which Lup considered slightly too private a question. And thinking back to her meeting with Raven, _she_ could understand it.   
  
“Boyo, you are just about done here. Write that shit down for later.”

 

Barry chuckled at the question and handed over his credit card to pay for breakfast.  
  
"So, everybody excited for the zoo?" 

 

When they arrived at the zoo, Barry grabbed a map and began to skim through it.   
  
"Okay, everybody. We're gonna stick together on this one. That includes you, Taako. But does everybody want to start with the uh... the North American animals or something else?"   
  
Keats and Savannah were leaning into an enclosure full of prairie dogs that was right near the entrance, watching the little creatures as they ran around and stood up on their hind legs. She had her camera out and was taking pictures.

 

“I want to see the jackalopes, I don’t give a fuck about the rest,” Taako declared, peering over Barry’s shoulder at the map.    
  
“That’s a lie; he’s going to stand outside the unicorns for twenty minutes.”  Lup stretched her hands up into the early afternoon sun, feeling...  _ good _ . The warmth of the day was leeching into her bones and driving away the lingering feelings of needing to wash her power. She had all her people under her eye, and Angus was starting to get the vibrating look he always had when taken to a  _ new place for learning _ .    
  
Casting a look over to Keats, she nodded to herself.    
“I wanna see the elephants, but they can wait.”

 

"Hey Mom? If I figure out how to get a prairie dog out and I can get it to stay in my hoodie, can I have one?"  
  
Savannah laughed and shoved Keats when he asked it, trying to keep his ears neutral and his face innocent. Then she tucked her camera into her jacket pocket.   
  
"I'd really like to see the pseudo dragons."   
  
Kravitz had an arm around Taako, looking at his own map.   
  
"I _would_ like to see the jackals. And, of course, the ravens."

 

“If you can manage that AND you don’t end up stealing anything else, sure why the fuck not,” Lup traced a line through the map and nodded. “Looks like we can manage all of those in a fairly good arc.”   
  
Their exploration was leisurely, with the inevitable side tracks from the designated path when a gift store popped up or they passed by the enormous griffin aviary.   
  
Finally, they took a break from the heat in the penguin exhibit, which had Angus leaning over the railing to get the best view of the birds. Lup was about to ask Barry to levitate him _out_ of there when Kravitz put a steadying grip on the back of his shirt and she could relax.   
  
She leaned against Barry and closed her eyes with a soft sigh.   
“Glad we didn’t go straight home...this is a better ending for a _mostly_ good trip...”

 

Barry turned and kissed her cheek, putting an arm around her.  
  
“Me too. This whole week, death cults aside, has been uh... its been pretty amazing.”   
  
He looked over at where Keats and Savannah were both knelt down trying to look at a baby penguin through the glass while it tried to hide behind one of the adult penguins and laughed quietly.   
“It also would’ve screwed up my plans.”

 

Lup’s ear twitched toward him and she bit the inside of her cheek to stop the sudden need to grin.   
  
“...Oh? Which were those?”

 

He laughed quietly and kissed her cheek again. Then he reached into his pocket and dropped to one knee.   
  
He’d waited for today on purpose, not just because it was the last day of the trip but because it was the one day he knew for certain the whole family would be together. He had known from the first morning at Lup and Taako’s old apartment that 'family' and 'Home’ would never just be him and Lup and as the months had passed since then and they had added the kids, those words had just grown and expanded to encompass so many of the people in their life. And he couldn’t imagine taking a step like this without them.   
  
He gave her a nervous smile, the little wooden ring box held tight in his hand.   
  
"I've been nervous all week, thinking about this." Barry took a breath, looking up at her with love in his eyes and reflected in the bond between them. "I love you so much and I just... I wanted to do this right. Every day that I get to wake up beside you is a perfect day. No matter where we are or what stupid thing is trying to kill us all this time. And I want that to be forever. And I want to be able to tell people that yeah, I'm _her_ husband." He laughed a little, ducking his head for just a moment. When he looked back up at her, his cheeks were pink. "Anyway... uh..."   
  
He opened the little box that his father had carved so long ago and held it out.   
  
"Lup Teosinva, will you do me the honor of marrying me?"

 

Lup was hardly aware of anything else once Barry slid off the bench, her ears up and pink in sudden consternation. Sure, he’d said he was going to propose _properly,_ but the actual doing sent a flush down her whole body.   
  
Biting her lip, she reached out to pluck out the gold ring that still hummed with Barry’s power and slid it on. It slipped easily over her knuckles and settled comfortably at the base, a perfect fit.   
  
“Yes, absolutely, no question, and I’m taking your name because _that_ one doesn’t fit at _all_ anymore.  I decided when you said it.”   
  
Still blushing, she laced her free hand with Barry’s and tugged him up into a kiss.   
  
“If you make out _now_ you’re going to miss them feeding the penguins!”   
  
Angus flopped into Barry’s abandoned seat on the bench and looked curiously at the box in his hand.   
  
“Did Gregor make that?”

  
Barry lingered in the kiss for a long moment and then pulled away just enough to smile at her. Only then did he realize that Angus had stolen his seat. He gave the boy a grin.   
  
"Yeah, he did. For my mother when they got married." For a moment, he looked at the second gold ring still in the box, the match to the first, and then closed it to tuck back into his pocket. "His magic feels really nice, huh?"   
  
Barry sat on Angus' other side, his arm on the back of the bench so he could still reach to hold Lup's hand. It was nice, watching the zookeepers in the enclosure tossing little fishes to the penguins with all of his family right there. Keats and Savannah were still laughing as they watched the baby penguins. Kravitz had an arm around Taako while Taako made faces at Lup. Barry smiled to himself. It was perfect


End file.
